Norwich pharmacist 'loses £1,500 a month on medication'

Maziar Moaddabi says he cannot continue to buy drugs at a higher cost than the NHS will pay

A pharmacist said he was concerned for the future after he spent £1,500 of his own money on patients' medication.

Maziar Moaddabi, who owns a pharmacy in Norwich, said the NHS did not fully cover the cost of 14 drugs last month.

He said he subsidised some medications himself because patients at Vauxhall Street Pharmacy "relied" upon him.

The Department of Health said that when medicine prices increased "rapidly" concessionary prices could be set to ensure pharmacists were "paid fairly".

Mr Moaddabi said he worked a 60-hour, six-day week and although he had taken dividends, he said he had not taken a wage for a year.

"I'm working here for free," he said. "When I first started 10 years ago I, like many pharmacists, could expect a salary of between £80,000 and £100,000. Now I can't take one at all."

According to Community Pharmacy Norfolk 170 medications were affected by supply problems and price increases

For every medicine, pharmacies will be reimbursed at a price agreed under the NHS contract. They can earn profit if they buy the drugs at a price lower than the price the NHS gives them. Bulk buying can help.

Smaller community pharmacies have said it has recently been more difficult to "bulk buy", and that the NHS has not been matching the cost of drugs.

One example was the drug clarithromycin, which is used to treat bacterial infections in children. Mr Moaddabi said the purchase price was £5.20 but the NHS was reimbursing him £3.87.

"We cannot make a profit," he said.

Mr Moaddabi said that because he knew the patients, it was impossible to say no to people. He described the situation as "heartbreaking".

He said the price of one medication to treat Parkinson's disease recently increased from £4 to £90 a box. He said that he bought the drug without knowing if the NHS would fully reimburse him, because people "needed it".

Simon Kew struggled to access his medication for Parkinson's disease

Simon Kew said Mr Moaddabi was the third pharmacist from which he had tried to get the Parkinson's medication.

"I spent a couple of months trying to get it - the [other pharmacists] just said they couldn't source it," he said.

Mr Kew, who used to be a schoolteacher and is now a poet, hoped the drug would help him continue to write.

His wife, Kathy, said she felt it was "life-saving" for her husband who had been diagnosed in the past year.

She said she "felt guilty" because she wondered about "who else needed it".

Community Pharmacy England said pharmacies had seen a 30% real-terms funding cut since 2015.

Pharmacies say it is becoming more difficult to buy drugs for a profit

There has been a loss of 21 community pharmacies in Norfolk and Waveney since 2015. Almost half that number have closed in the past 18 months. Some pharmacies have also reduced opening hours at quieter times.

Community Pharmacy Norfolk said that the price of medication caused by post-Brexit supply issues, and the NHS payment contract, were the main reasons behind the closures.

Tony Dean, the organisation's chief officer, said: 'We are deeply concerned that the whole pharmacy set up is at risk of collapsing."

Many pharmacies are now starting services GP's no longer provide, such as ear-wax removal

Mr Moaddabi has been providing more services to make the pharmacy profitable, such as a post office. He also received funding from NHS Pharmacy First to check for seven common conditions such as sinusitis, and has been carrying out ear wax removal privately.

"These are probably the only reasons we can survive," he said.

But Mr Dean warned that cash for extra services "wouldn't save pharmacies" if the medicine payment contract remained unchanged.

Sandra Hernandez Lopez is concerned pharmacists are taking on extra work for very little reward

Sandra Hernandez Lopez, a locum pharmacist, said she was worried pharmacies were overstretched.

"[The government] is expecting us to do a lot. We are short staffed and we are there to sort out NHS problems, but don't have any of the benefits, like a pension," she said.

The Department of Health said: "Community pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system and are backed by £2.6bn a year in government funding, and four in five people in England can reach a community pharmacy within a 20-minute walk.

"Where medicine prices increase significantly and rapidly, concessionary prices can be set to ensure that pharmacy contractors are paid fairly, and can access medicines for their patients."