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Dispensing in England risks becoming unsustainable without urgent government action, according to a new report from the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA).

The report points out that dispensing by community pharmacies saves taxpayers over £1.3bn each year, yet remains undervalued, underappreciated and under threat. Despite forming “the backbone” of accessible, safe and equitable healthcare, the service is under “unsustainable pressure”. 

The report underscores the substantial, often unseen benefits, that the dispensing service provides. For instance, pharmacies prevented more than 610,000 prescribing errors last year, avoiding potential harm to patients and saving the NHS almost £600m.

At the same time, it drives patient access with pharmacies dispensing around 1.15 billion items a year and patients visiting pharmacies 12 times more frequently than GP surgeries. In addition, NHS dispensing saves taxpayers over £750m each year through efficient procurement.

The volume of prescribed medicines increased by 17 per cent over the past decade, yet the single activity fee rose by just 21p since 2017 – an amount far below inflation, the CCA points out. Workforce shortages are also adding to the pressures on the sector.

Dispensing accounts for 85 per cent of community pharmacy funding in England and remains central to the Government’s plans to expand clinical services through neighbourhood health teams, says the CCA. It calls for immediate investment, workforce reform and improved access to shared patient records.

The CCA wants an expansion of independent prescribing training and career pathways to strengthen clinical capacity and attract future talent to the sector. Pharmacists should be empowered to resolve prescribing errors, use flexibilities to manage medicine shortages, while the supervision rules must be updated so pharmacy technicians can support safe, efficient dispensing.

Malcolm Harrison, CCA chief executive, said that dispensing provides enormous benefits to patients, the NHS and taxpayers. “Community pharmacies remain the cornerstone of local, accessible, high-quality healthcare, yet mounting pressures threaten their ability to fulfil this role.”

He added: “Decades of underfunding have weakened the sector, and without urgent investment and reform, patient access to essential services will be at risk.”