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Figures released by Health minister, Stephen Kinnock, in answer to a parliamentary question from Helen Morgan MP, the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, have revealed that funding for community pharmacies in England is £800 million less in real-terms today than it was in 2015/16.

According to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), the impact has been a net loss of 1,479 brick-and-mortar pharmacies since 2016 (a 13% contraction of the network), and the uplift to pharmacy funding by 19% last year fell short of what the pharmacy network needed to survive.

NPA chief executive, Henry Gregg, said: “It’s important to remind MPs and Ministers that a decade of cuts has led to serious consequences for patients’ access to care.

“The funding statistics revealed in parliament this week are further evidence of the need for fresh investment in pharmacies, coming as they do after the NHS’s independent analysis revealed a £2 billion shortfall.

“We are still waiting for negotiations to begin on a new pharmacy contract in England – and we need swift progress in the light of statistics like these and the depressing reality on the ground for pharmacy teams and patients. It’s an opportunity for the government to fulfil its promises to stabilise the pharmacy network and support pharmacies to provide more NHS clinical care close to where people live, work and shop.”

Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the CCA, said: “We welcome the minister’s finding that the sector is still significantly underfunded, despite the changes made a year ago. The Government has pledged to stabilise the community pharmacy network. This will only be possible with fair funding, which reflects the workload the NHS and patients expect and need.

"Unfortunately, without action, patients will see further pharmacy closures and find it harder to access the medicines they need.

"As well as damaging the pharmacy sector, this underfunding significantly limits the NHS’ ability to meet patients’ needs.  Pharmacies could release tens of millions of primary care appointments each year, but this is only possible with funding to stabilise the sector, and further investment so patients can access routine primary care from pharmacies closer to their homes and places of work.

Helen Morgan MP, who tabled the parliamentary question, said: “Pharmacies play a crucial role by reducing the pressure on overcrowded hospitals and GP surgeries. If we continue to underfund them, we risk putting hospitals already on the brink under even more pressure, leaving many patients to suffer unnecessarily.

"Without additional funding, more pharmacies will close – affecting rural, coastal and deprived communities the hardest – where they are most needed.

"With so many pharmacies already having gone to the wall and with many more at risk of closure, the Government needs to change course. That means reversing the brutal cuts to pharmacies under the Conservatives and exempting pharmacies from the government’s disastrous jobs tax to prevent any future surge in closures."