Short sighted cuts to Pharmacy funding

The Department of Health is pressing ahead with the cuts and it will cause major trauma to the community pharmacy network, such unnecessary cuts are being imposed on one of the most efficient health sector. A recent report by Price Waterhouse Coopers showed that community pharmacy provided £3 billion net value to the NHS by providing 12 enhanced services.

Raj Matharu, BBG LPC CEO comments ” this cut is totally unjustified considering the number of prescriptions that community pharmacists dispense year on year and other services that they provide. It seems that the Department of Health does not have a strategy for community pharmacy other than the age old rhetoric of how under utilised the sector is.”  

The current situation of increase number of community pharmacies is as a direct result of the 100 hour exemption on the control of entry. Community pharmacy would welcome integration into the wider healthcare but it requires commissioners to work with the sector and at present the local commissioners also face intense pressure on their budgets.

It really is up to patients to stand up for their local community pharmacy and they can do this by logging onto www.supportyourlocalpharmacy.org