‘Teetering on the brink’: 63% of indie pharmacies facing closure
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More than 60% of independent pharmacies could close in the next year without additional financial support from the government, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) today (August 27) revealed.
According to the NPA, which surveyed 600 member pharmacies in July, as many as 63% of pharmacy owners believed they faced permanent closure in the next 12 months due to financial pressures.
The findings come as NPA analysis of NHS figures shows an additional 72 pharmacies in England have closed this year so far - the equivalent of around two a week or 10 a month.
Read more: Family-run London chain’s losses up 272% despite turnover growth
Meanwhile, a new survey by Community Pharmacy England (CPE) also found that almost four in 10 (37%) pharmacy owners were unable to pay their wholesaler bills on time, while 45% have dipped into personal savings or remortgaged their homes in the last year to subsidise medicines costs.
“No NHS service should be being propped up by the personal savings or mortgages of the individuals running it,” said NPA chief executive Henry Gregg.
“These surveys show many pharmacies are teetering on the brink and need support if they are to survive and achieve their full potential,” he added.
Read more: Mapped: Locations of eight Tesco pharmacies closing for good
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Pharmacies saw their first real-terms increase in government funding for a decade in April, but 94% of those surveyed by the NPA said this latest settlement “did not bring stability to their finances”.
Pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock acknowledged at the time that the funding deal was “not perfect by any means”, while the NHS-commissioned independent economic analysis published in March revealed that pharmacies are still facing a funding gap of £2.6 billion.
“Facing financial ruin”
CPE’s survey, which collected responses from more than 800 pharmacy owners across the country, also revealed that just 6% of contractors said their pharmacies were profitable and more than half (51%) reported that they were losing money.
“I talk to lots of pharmacy owners across England on a regular basis and many of them, like me, are in a terrible financial position,” said independent community pharmacy owner Mike Hewitson.
Read more: Pharmacy clinical service funding ‘insufficient’, finds NHSE report
Hewitson, who runs two pharmacies in the south of England, said he had been “forced to make tough decisions about reducing [his] opening hours or cutting staff numbers”.
“It can’t be right that people delivering high-quality NHS services with a very deep focus on their patients are facing financial ruin,” he added.
“Unbearable pressures”
CPE chief executive Janet Morrison warned that England’s community pharmacies have been “under unbearable pressures for a number of years now”.
She said the body’s survey reveals a “deeply concerning trend of pharmacy owners fighting to keep their business afloat” and “facing disastrous personal financial situations as a consequence”.
Morrison added that despite the “very welcome” funding increase in April, it “remains a frightening time for very many pharmacy owners”.
Read more: Peak Pharmacy losses up 42% despite ‘large-scale automation’
Pharmacy leaders’ calls for the government to increase core funding come after an NHS England (NHSE) commissioned report last month found that remuneration for community pharmacy clinical services is “insufficient” and hinders their “ability to deliver”.
And earlier this month, CPE launched a “summer survey” to gather pharmacy owners’ views on “potential funding allocations, service priorities and regulatory asks” ahead of negotiations for the 2026/27 pharmacy contract.
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