This would include reducing opening hours, having fewer pharmacies opening in the evenings and weekends, limiting home deliveries and withdrawing from locally commissioned schemes.
The PDA recognises the severe financial pressures facing community pharmacies due to years of real-term funding cuts, rising costs, and an absence of a sustainable financial settlement from the government.
New, unfunded costs are due to hit pharmacies on 1 April 2025. New costs include national insurance, national living wage and business rates.
The decision by the NPA to recommend service reductions and reduce opening hours from 1 April highlights the urgent need for a fair and sustainable funding model to protect patient care.
The PDA has consistently raised concerns about the impact of funding cuts on patient safety, pharmacy teams’ working conditions, and the long-term sustainability of the sector. A reduction in pharmacy services, including fewer evening and weekend openings, withdrawal from essential local health initiatives, and cuts to home delivery services, will disproportionately affect vulnerable patients and place additional strain on other parts of the NHS.
PDA Director of Pharmacy, Jay Badenhorst commented, “As the voice of the pharmacists, the PDA must be included from the onset in any contract negotiations that impact those delivering patient care. Decisions about pharmacy funding and services cannot be made in isolation from those working in pharmacies every day.
The PDA is therefore calling on the government and NHS England to ensure that workforce representatives are meaningfully involved in shaping a sustainable future for the sector. Failure to do so will only accelerate pharmacy closures, increase pressure on GPs and hospitals, and, most importantly, worsen patient health outcomes. The PDA remains committed to supporting pharmacists through these challenges and advocating for a fair and sustainable future for community pharmacy.”
Any PDA members that are concerned that their employment rights, contracted hours, or pre-booked arrangements may be affected by any action taken by their employer, should contact the PDA Member Support Centre for advice and assistance.
Learn more
- NPA advises 6,000 member pharmacies to limit services as employment costs loom
- PDA Member Support Centre
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