Pharmacies face tsunami of closures’ following Budget

Ashley Cohen was left with no option but to take out two loans last year to keep the doors of his three pharmacies open.

- RACHEL CLUN

“This year alone, I've had to borrow an extra £125,000 to keep me going, and that is just for my small group of pharmacies. To meet my responsibilities of staffing and cost pressures that I’ve got in the current financial year,” the Yorkshire-based pharmacist told The Independent.

“There will come a point where I can’t keep borrowing, remortgaging the house, raiding pension pots or putting money into a business or a profession that isn’t being valued. And I might have to, at some point, say the doors have to be closed. I’m on borrowed time, and I'm not the only one.”

Mr Cohen is one of thousands of pharmacists across the UK growing increasingly concerned about the future of the industry after years of funding stagnation. The government is currently negotiating contracts for 2024-25 and 2025-26 with pharmacists, but there are serious concerns that many won’t be able to continue without a serious injection of cash.

They are also bracing for an April “cliff edge” as the combined increases to the national living wage and national insurance contributions take effect, which the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) estimates will cost pharmacies across the UK a combined £310m.

The NPA’s chair, Nick Kaye, said that comes on top of the 40 per cent cut in real terms to pharmacy funding over the past decade.