Funding
Pharmacy collective action would put strain on GPs who are “already struggling to keep up with appointments”, a GP practice has told C+D.
Community pharmacists are set to meet with a Northern Ireland Office (NIO) minister to discuss the sector’s funding crisis after the National Pharmacy Association’s (NPA) ballot received near unanimous support in favour of collective action.
The pharmacy negotiator has called for promised financial rewards for “high-performing” health providers announced as part of a package of NHS reforms to “apply to community pharmacy too”.
Facing almost £50,000 in wholesaler fees and NHS clawbacks, one Plymouth pharmacy owner has told C+D that she is still paying back a personal loan used to pay for NHS medicine.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DH) has admitted that the system is “no longer supporting” pharmacists, amid overwhelming support for pharmacy collective action.
The National Pharmacy Association’s (NPA) ballot has received near unanimous support in favour of collective action, but it will now wait for the government to respond before advising members to act.
Pharmacy workers across the Netherlands are taking part in a national strike calling for “higher wages” and a “reduction in work pressure”.
MPs have urged the government to “go back to the drawing board” and “invest” in community pharmacies as concerns grow about the upcoming hike in employer National Insurance Contributions.
Pharmacies and GPs will not receive additional funding to help with the burden of increased employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs), which was announced last week (October 30) in the chancellor’s first Budget, C+D understands.
An increase in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and minimum wages will cost the community pharmacy sector more than £125 million, a new IPA analysis has found.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has stressed that the budget will have a “devastating impact” on the health sector, “but none more so than NHS GP services”.
A pharmacist “with 14 years of experience” has received the six-figure financial support of River Capital to purchase a Liverpool premise, the investor has announced.
The pharmacy network has lost more than £115-million-worth of potential Pharmacy First funding this year due to “informal referrals” by GPs and NHS 111, a new audit by the negotiator has revealed.
The national living wage will increase by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour from April next year, the Chancellor has confirmed in her first budget.
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has revealed that negotiations around the Pharmacy First service were “horrendous”, as core contract negotiations that were originally set to conclude in March continue.
A new analysis has revealed that NHS underfunding has left pharmacies facing “thousands of pounds” of losses every month for common prescription medicines including Parkinson’s drugs, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications.
The minimum number of Pharmacy First consultations pharmacies must complete to qualify for a monthly payment has been reduced until March next year, NHS England has revealed.
CPE has announced that the seat allocation on its committee will change “as quickly as possible” – in 2026.
NICE has opened a consultation on the possible mass rollout of tirzepatide to millions of people in England over the next decade.
Pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock said that the government viewed resolving community pharmacy funding as “a matter of urgency”.