Patients will benefit from new pharmacy services, as the Government and Community Pharmacy England (CPE) agree on a £617m investment
The UK Government has announced significant funding to help community pharmacies expand services and improve patient care. The full-year funding package is the first agreed upon by the sector since 2023, marking the government’s initial steps in introducing its Plan for Change.
Government writes off £193m debt for community pharmacies
Following a six-week consultation with Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and Social Care has agreed to a £617 million funding package over two years.
Additionally, the government is writing off £193 million of debt for community pharmacy owners to give them confidence entering the new financial year in April.
The funding is the first step in addressing the years of underfunding and lack of support for the sector, leading to many community pharmacies facing financial strain.
Patients will benefit from expanded pharmacy services
The new funding means pharmacy services will increase, shifting the focus from GP and hospital care to the community. Patients can access care and support from the high street, improving accessibility, freeing up GP time, reducing NHS waiting lists and supporting their local community pharmacists.
New pharmacy services will include:
- Emergency contraception will be available free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS for the first time, improving accessibility to women, reducing inequalities, and abolishing the postcode lottery that many women face when receiving the ‘morning after pill’ for free.
- Patients suffering from depression will have access to support from pharmacies when they are prescribed antidepressants, to improve mental health support in the community.
- Cutting red tape and bureaucracy to improve access to consultations, allowing pharmacists to deliver a wider number of services such as medicines and prescription advice, Pharmacy First services, and blood pressure checks.
- Offering financial incentives to pharmacists who identify patients with undiagnosed high blood pressure, reducing GP pressure.
- Increase funding for medical supplies so patients have better access to the medicines prescribed, including writing off historical debt from dispensing activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing fees linked to dispensing prescriptions.
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Community pharmacists are at the heart of local healthcare, and we want them to play a bigger role as we shift care out of hospitals and into the community through our Plan for Change.
We’re working to turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect that has left the sector on the brink of collapse.
This package of record investment and reform is a vital first step to getting community pharmacies back on their feet and fit for the future.
The agreement shows how this government is working in partnership with community pharmacies to deliver more care for patients closer to their home, freeing up GP appointments, and catching ill health earlier and preventing it in the first place.”
First full-year funding agreed since 2023
The monumental funding agreement for community pharmacies is the first to be agreed by Community Pharmacy England since 2023, after previous offers were rejected.
The deal includes confirmation of a final funding settlement for this year (2024/25) worth an extra £106m compared to the previous year, and an additional 375m for 2025/26. £30m has also been freed up by devolving funding for blood pressure and contraception services to pharmacies.
Community Pharmacy England Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: “As highly trusted and accessible healthcare locations, community pharmacies have so much to offer patients and the NHS to help shift more care into communities.
But we came to these negotiations as a sector in crisis, with the impact of a decade’s worth of real-term cuts to funding leaving pharmacy businesses fighting to survive, and closures continuing at an alarming rate.
We are pleased that this settlement takes a positive first step in the right direction for pharmacies, towards stabilisation and a better future.
A sustainable community pharmacy sector can and must play a huge part in the future of the NHS.”
David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England: “This positive investment underscores the importance of community pharmacy as an integral part of the NHS team, providing clinical care, optimising the use of medicines, and supporting people in their neighbourhoods to prevent ill-health.
Thank you to community pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy teams across England for your professionalism, innovation and commitment. I look forward to continuing our exciting work together to develop future professional practice, building on the achievements in education and training and workforce development that we have so far progressed.”
