'This is not sustainable' : Derry pharmacies owner among those warning over rising costs

Community pharmacist Liam Bradley, who runs pharmacies in Derry, Tyrone and Enniskillen, and others are calling for greater investment and exemptions to offset soaring costs facing community pharmacies, at a time when they are shouldering increasing responsibility for frontline medical care.

Mr Bradley was among a group who met with politicians at Stormont last week to highlight the success of their teams across the north in "keeping patients well at home”, without the need for GP or Emergency Department visits.

The Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI, Gerard Greene however warned that those same pharmacies are facing “huge hikes in their running costs when the new National Insurance Contributions (NIC) are introduced”. Along with Minimum Wage changes, the sector here is facing an additional £10m annual payroll bill.

Politicians are being urged “to make the case at Westminster” for relief for community pharmacies, GPs, opticians and dentists, “all of whom face the same blow from April 1”.

“Community pharmacies have been instrumental in tackling winter pressures, with the delivery of Flu and Covid-19; and they are testing and treating key health conditions like bacterial sore throats and urinary tract infections (UTIs) so that less patients need a GP appointment.

Mr Bradley said: “With ongoing financial pressures, medicine shortages and fluctuating drug pricing making cash flow very difficult, this move will, categorically, impact on my ability to continue delivering pharmacy services. I simply cannot absorb these cost increases and consequently opening hours and jobs are at risk, which will ultimately affect our ability to deliver for patients.

"We’re extremely proud of the contribution community pharmacy teams have made in tackling the winter pressures across the health service. We also know that, with more investment, we could do even more.”

Gerard Greene explained that, in the face of this, the options for the sector are limited and he has warned that the impact will be felt by patients. He continued: “In the private sector, businesses facing these National Insurance rises will, most likely, consider increasing the prices they charge for goods and services to cover the extra running cost. As a free public health service, community pharmacies do not have this option and unlike the health service they are not protected from these Budget increases.

“The only other way they can reduce the impact of this increased staff cost is to either cut staff numbers, or to reduce opening hours.

“The reality is that individual pharmacy owners are already propping up the cost of providing this national health service from their own savings, so any further increased costs are simply unsustainable and unjust.

Danny Donnelly MLA, who chairs the All-Party Group on Community Pharmacy said: “The meeting of the All-Party Group was testament to the strong support for the sector from MLAs across the Assembly. We all know and value the work done in our communities by Community Pharmacies providing medications and advice and services to people in need in their local areas.

“We heard about the additional pressures on this vital sector from the UK budget and how this will impact pharmacies across Northern Ireland. We need to see the sector stabilised to fully deliver the services we need to keep people healthy and reduce pressure on other areas of the Health Service.”