The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed it has agreed funding with Community Pharmacy England worth an extra £617 million, over 2 years, following a 6-week consultation with the organisation. On top of this, the government is writing off £193 million of debt for community pharmacy owners to give them confidence going into the new financial year. The extra funding from the government aims to enable patients to receive more services in the community.
The Government says that the greater range of services provided will not only improve access for patients, but also free up GP time and cut waiting lists by avoiding the need for people to book in to see their GP.
This includes:
- making the ‘morning-after pill’ available free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS for the first time ever, ending the postcode lottery women face in accessing the medicine and reducing inequalities
- offering patients suffering depression convenient support at pharmacies when they are prescribed antidepressants, to boost mental health support in the community
- cutting red tape and bureaucracy to give patients easier access to consultations, with more of the pharmacy team able to deliver a wider number of services such as medicines and prescriptions advice, Pharmacy First services and carrying out blood pressure checks
- boosting financial incentives for pharmacists to identify patients with undiagnosed high blood pressure and take pressure off GPs
- boosting funding for medicine supply so patients have better access to the medicines prescribed for them. This includes writing off the historic debt linked to dispensing activity during the 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 pharmacy 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."
The deal is the first full-year funding to be agreed by Community Pharmacy England since 2023 after it rejected an offer from the previous administration. It includes confirmation of a final funding settlement for this year (2024 to 2025) worth an extra £106 million compared with the previous year, and a further £375 million for 2025 to 2026. It takes the total package for the coming year to £3.073 billion. A further £30 million has also been freed up by devolving funding for blood pressure and contraception services to pharmacies.
In total, the 2025 to 2026 uplift represents a 15% increase in government spending on the previous year, higher than the record 5.8% growth in the total NHS budget.
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-terms 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, said: "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."
