In Business news

Follow this topic

Bookmark

Record learning outcomes

Community pharmacy bodies have urged the Government to make pharmacy funding a priority as chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a £29bn uplift for the NHS over the next three years. 

“There’s no strong economy without a strong NHS,” the chancellor told the House of Commons today (June 11) as she announced the outcome of Labour’s spending review, which will see an additional £29bn per year invested in the health sector.

There will be a three per cent real terms rise in NHS spending each year for the next three years, she confirmed. 

This investment is to include “up to £10bn” to aid “technology and digital transformation” as well as funding to train “thousands more GPs” and provide 700,000 more urgent NHS dental appointments each year. 

Pharmacy bodies were quick to respond, with Community Pharmacy England issuing a statement this afternoon calling on the Government to use the spending review to bridge the gap between the current annual sector budget of £3.073bn and the actual cost of providing pharmacy services, which is estimated to be significantly higher. 

“We do not yet have a clear path to the sustainable funding and operational model that community pharmacy so desperately needs, and which Government has committed to,” said CPE chief executive Janet Morrison.  

“We look forward to discussing this with Government very soon, and with the spending review now concluded we want to see demonstrable action soon to show that progress is being made on the commitment to this future for community pharmacy.”

CPE said it will be putting pressure on Government and NHS England in its “ongoing” discussions with them, adding that it is engaging in wider outreach with parliamentarians “and others who can influence policy”.

Meanwhile, pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock revealed yesterday that there is currently “no set timeline” to launch negotiations for the 2026-27 pharmacy contract.

Mr Kinnock said the Department of Health and Social Care’s “mandate for the consultation” will “be sought when internal departmental budgets have been set” for 2026-27, which is expected to happen by the end of the month. 

‘Don’t underestimate pharmacy’s challenges’

Commenting on the spending review announcement, National Pharmacy Association chief executive Henry Gregg said: “Real terms spending increases for the NHS are good news. But we shouldn’t underestimate the challenge of keeping pharmacies supporting millions of patients every day while they are still facing acute financial pressures despite additional funding this year. 

“Estimates commissioned by the NHS suggest that the pharmacy service costs billions more to run than the NHS funds because of underfunding over the past decade so we need to work with ministers to shift care from hospitals to the community, prevent disease and unleash the power of technology.”

Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association, said: “Our members have all invested heavily in infrastructure and technology to enhance efficiencies and improve productivity. 

“Unfortunately, the current level of NHS funding for pharmacies is insufficient to sustain the network, resulting in the continued loss of local pharmacies across the country. 

“More funding must be made available to pharmacies so they can continue to meet the growing demands of medicines supply and provide accessible care to patients wherever and whenever they need it.”