The National Pharmacy Association told the latest phase of the Covid inquiry yesterday that community pharmacies came into the pandemic struggling to stay open because of government funding cuts and are in a more perilous position now.

The NPA’s legal representative Deirdre Domingo said pharmacies played a significant role during Covid in ensuring patients had access to medicines despite enduring a “financial and workforce crises due to long term underinvestment in the network.”

She warned the situation four years on has worsened, with about eight independent pharmacies closing each week.

“(Funding and workforce) issues presented significant challenges for community pharmacy in responding to the pandemic and increased the difficulties in providing services to patients and maintaining staffing levels,” Domingo said.

“Even though the pandemic clearly showed that pharmacies are an essential part of health and social care, real term funding cuts have continued, and the independent community pharmacy sector finds itself in a worse situation than at the outset of the pandemic with pharmacies closing at the rate of approximately eight per week.”

NPA chief executive Paul Rees repeated his call for a new pharmacy contract and better funding, warning pharmacies will continue to close without more support from the government.

“Pharmacies went into the pandemic off the back of years of real terms cuts and have come out facing a full-scale funding crisis, which has forced hundreds of pharmacies to close and pushed many more to the brink,” he said.  

“They are a vital part of our national resilience against future pandemics which we are told are highly likely to hit us again in the future. We need a new contract, proper funding and an end of closures to make sure this vital national resource is still in existence when the next pandemic comes around.”

Insisting pharmacies helped save many lives during the pandemic, Rees said: “Pharmacies played a vital and heroic role during the pandemic, both contributing hugely to the national vaccination programme which led us out of the pandemic and keeping healthcare open for millions of people during lockdown.”

RPS urged inquiry to consider several issues

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society urged the inquiry to consider several issues, including the recognition of pharmacists as key workers, the resilience of pharmacy services during a future pandemic or health emergency, how medicines shortages will impact patients, investment in aseptic pharmacy services, the welfare of pharmacy teams and the eligibility of pharmacists for government life assurance schemes.

RPS president Claire Anderson insisted the professional leadership body will “continue to urge the inquiry to recognise the key role of pharmacists and pharmacy teams across the whole of the health service during Covid.”

“Pharmacy teams were central to supporting patient care during the pandemic, providing a lifeline for the public and maintaining vital access to medicines,” she said.

“Pharmacy teams showed tremendous dedication in extraordinary circumstances, often at great personal cost.

“With growing demand on the health service, rising numbers of medicines shortages, and ongoing workforce pressures, there are clear lessons which must be learned so we can help prepare for the future.”