Community pharmacies in England are being advised to start working to rule in two weeks unless an agreement can be reached with the government on a new NHS contract.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) is urging members to take action because they have yet to receive any confirmation of an increase in funding for this or next financial year.
Action could involve reducing their opening hours and cutting other services, such as delivering medicines to people’s homes.
The government said the move would cause “unnecessary disruption for patients” and a settlement with pharmacies was already being worked on.
A pharmacy’s NHS contract accounts for about 90% of its revenue, on average. And with increases in National Insurance, the National Living Wage and business rates, from 1st April, pharmacies say the lack of agreement over their contract is causing worry and uncertainty.
This comes on top of a decade of cuts to funding, which has seen 30 pharmacies close since the start of this year, the NPA says.
Some 3,000 pharmacy owners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted in favour of action, in November. This could involve cutting pharmacy opening times to 40 hours a week, which is the minimum set out in the current NHS contract, with shops less likely to be open at weekends and in the evenings.
Pharmacies may also decide to stop offering other services not in their current contract, such as stop smoking and addiction support, and emergency contraception.
Nick Kaye, NPA Chairman, said pharmacies had been “left with little choice”.
“It’s better that we temporarily reduce access in the short term than to let pharmacies collapse altogether under the weight of unsustainable operating costs,” he said.
There had been little feedback from ministers and the impact of the current uncertainty was “devastating” for pharmacies, Kaye added.
“We want to get on with seeing patients, pay our staff, not have to think about closing, and invest in our business for the future.”
