'Pharmacies are closing' warns Telford pharmacist as national association says services 'at breaking point'
A Telford pharmacist has warned "pharmacies are closing" as the industry's national association says services are at "breaking point".
Nigel Dugmore, who has been running Telford's Donnington Pharmacy since 2013, was speaking as the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said that two-thirds of independent pharmacies are at risk of "imminent closure" due to financial constraints.
The NPA said that many are considering cutting services as they have reached “breaking point”.
It warned that closure of pharmacies will “jeopardise access” to medicines for millions of patients and “blows an enormous hole” in Government plans to bring care closer to home.
The organisation has written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting to highlight the “perilous position” of independent pharmacies in England.
“A recent poll found that two-thirds (65 per cent) of pharmacies in England operated at a loss last year,” the letter stated.
“That means that in reality two-thirds of pharmacies are at real risk of imminent closure, jeopardising access to medicines our patients need and blowing an enormous hole in the 10-year plan before it has even begun.”
The letter says pharmacists are facing a “cliff edge” of costs from April, including business rate rises and minimum wage increases.
It also highlights how pharmacies are “routinely subsidising NHS prescriptions”, which is “simply not right”.
