Pharmacists find cuts hard to swallow
Patients looking to use their local pharmacies in the evenings and at weekends could soon be facing difficulty after owners England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted in favour of reducing opening hours in the first collective action in their history.
Pharmacists are generally regarded as the least radical of all healthcare staff, but they say they have been left with no choice but to take action because of “a decade of underfunding”.
Pharmacies in England have seen their funding cut by 40 per cent in the past decade even though they are dispensing record levels of prescriptions and are supporting the NHS by providing more clinical services.
Leaders say that the sector is in an “escalating crisis” with a £1.7bn shortfall in its funding.
It is little wonder that many feel driven to action. Thousands of independent community pharmacies took part in an unprecedented ballot, in which well over 90 per cent of the respondents voted in favour of reduced services and shorter hours.
The National Pharmacy Association said it was left with “no choice” but to take collective action after years of sounding the alarm about funding cuts.
The size of the vote in support of action is a reflection of the anger felt around the country.
The ballot came at the same time as the Budget increased national insurance contributions and the National Living Wage and “compounding a desperate situation”, in the words of the NPA.
Further closures would inevitably have a knock-on effect on other pharmacies, leading to longer waiting times and a faster depletion of stock.
