'Complete turmoil' for community pharmacies

Gompels Pharmacy's two sites in Melksham have taken on 1,700 more patients in 12 months

An award-winning community pharmacy has said the industry is in "complete turmoil" as many make losses, partly because drug prices and the reimbursements from the NHS do not match.

Wiltshire pharmacy Gompels has been backing the Save Our Pharmacies campaign, set up by several national bodies.

The Bath, Wiltshire and Swindon area has the lowest number of pharmacists per person in England, according to figures from November 2023.

NHS England has said it was "working hard" to get businesses to stay, including with the new Pharmacies First scheme.

Paddy Gompels, who runs the business side of the pharmacy, holds a box containing thousands of drug invoices sent to them in the course of a single month

It comes as they are being expected to do more and take pressure off GPs, through initiatives such as with the new Pharmacy First scheme.

Gompels in Melksham, Wiltshire, won a Pharmacy of the Year Award last year, but has not been immune to the pressures.

Handling the business side of the pharmacy is Paddy Gompels, who said: "It's hours of work to get to the bottom of what we're paying for drugs, how much we're being reimbursed.

"As a kind of average, we're looking at 30-50 product lines a month that we are loss-making on."

He explained pharmacies have to wait each month to get money back on the drugs they buy in for patients. The NHS uses a drug tariff for reimbursements, but it often does not cover the moving prices.

It decides each month which ones it will reimburse at higher rates, but this does not always cover it and Mr Gompels said the system is based on "trust".

One example has been the drug ezetimibe, used for high cholesterol. In January, Gompels found themselves more than £5,000 out of pocket for it and are not sure how much of that they will get back.

For another drug - used for Parkinsons - the NHS tariff is £3.50, but the wholesale price recently has been £46.

Andrew Hobson, the pharmacist at Gompels, said they had a "difficult balance to strike"

A fixed five-year contract between the NHS and pharmacies is due to come to an end soon, but Mr Gompels said there is no sign of a new one yet.

The business has had to diversify for some time, for example with specialist mobility aids and care items. However, it is prescriptions that bring people through the door first.

Pharmacist Andrew Hobson said: "We have a clinical responsibility and a professional obligation, but, equally if we continue losing money, we won't be here to help anybody.

"It is a very difficult balance to strike. We usually end up paying extra."

The extra money from the Pharmacy First scheme is welcome.

Mr Gompels said it was a "brilliant chance for pharmacy to show that we can more than dispensing medication" but it is not enough overall.

This branch of Gompels - one of two sites in Melksham - has diversified with a care shop

There are now fewer bricks and mortar pharmacies in England than there were eight years ago.

Patients in Amesbury are often queuing out in the cold as they wait to pick up prescriptions.

The town has two pharmacies, but they are very close together and one is tiny.

Eve and Peter Beyfus are local residents in their 70s and both need medication.

Mrs Beyfus said: "The prescriptions sometimes take two weeks to be processed.

"It's not a fault of the staff. There's not the capacity. Now it's getting increasingly difficult because more housing has been built."

Mr Beyfus said it has left them feeling "let down".

Eve and Peter Beyfus from Amesbury have said they feel "let down."

Local mayor Councillor Monica Devendran has been trying lots of avenues to get another pharmacy.

"Some residents have written to me saying they are unable to get emergency drugs immediately. I've taken it to various levels," she said.

A previous report said that Amesbury does not need another pharmacy, but she has been pushing for another assessment.

Amesbury mayor Councillor Monica Devendran has been fighting to get another pharmacy in the town

The NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board said other pharmacies can apply to open in response to a closure, which is then assessed against regulations and need.

It explained that in November 2023, a national plan put in £645m to help community pharmacies deliver extra services.

Mr Gompels would like to see "a new contract which is more flexible, which will account for things like inflation and a drugs reimbursement system that is not so rigid."

Community pharmacies like Gompels are waiting to see what a new contract with the NHS might look like

A contract is agreed upon nationally with the government and NHS. The BBC has not yet had a response from the Department of Health and Social Care.

Catriona Ketiar, South West chief pharmacist at NHS England, said: "Community pharmacies are independent businesses.

"They're able to choose whether they remain in the market or not, but we've also seen others stepping into those spaces. Initiatives like Pharmacy First helps make it an attractive offer for people to want to stay."

She added they are "working hard" to encourage businesses to stay.

Pharmacies are now waiting to see what a new contract might bring, but so far have not heard about any negotiations.