Warning community pharmacies at risk of closure due to funding problems

Pharmacists have said they are dispensing up to 160 medications at a loss

Some of Northern Ireland's community pharmacies could be at risk of closing, a representative group has said.

Community Pharmacy NI, which represents more than 500 pharmacies, said Health Department funding was not viable.

It follows a rise in demand for antibiotics for strep A and reports of low supplies in some locations.

However, Northern Ireland's chief pharmaceutical officer said there was no evidence to suggest community pharmacies are at risk.

The Financial Times reported the wholesale price of antibiotics outstripped the compensation pharmacists received from the NHS.

This meant pharmacists were losing money on each prescription.

Pharmacists have said they are dispensing up to 160 medications at a loss, including some inhalers and Omeprazole, which is used to treat heartburn.

Losing money

County Armagh pharmacist Mark Hunter said when a drug became available and his pharmacy had a prescription it would order it and dispense it regardless of how much it cost.

"What we will pay for it is anybody's guess," he said.

"We hope that the government will pay us enough to cover the costs of the drugs, but in our experience they never do - we will lose money."

Pharmacies buy drugs from suppliers at net prices.

There is an annual Department of Health budget to reimburse the pharmacies for that outlay, but for a number of years now pharmacists have said that budget is not enough and they are dispensing at a loss.

Pharmacist Mark Hunter (left) and Community Pharmacy NI's Gerard Greene (right)

"That inhaler - they'll pay me £44.50 less 10%, so I'll get paid £40 for something I cannot get for less than £44.50," Mr Hunter said.

"It's really bad. I do worry about the electric bills, I do worry about costs, my ability to pay my staff at the end of the month.

"We're losing money hand over fist on so many drugs. We have so much uncertainty that our business model doesn't work.

"We're hoping at the end of the month to have enough money to pay for our drugs and to pay our staff. It's as bleak as that."

• Fears over medicine shortages amid spiralling costs

• Strep A antibiotic deliveries to NI being sped up

Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Cathy Harrison has dismissed any suggestion community pharmacies may be forced to close.

Speaking to the BBC's Talkback programme, Ms Harrison said pharmacies would be reimbursed for medicines they had supplied.

She said she was working closely with community pharmacy representatives.

Community Pharmacy NI said there are on average one million dispensings every week in Northern Ireland, many in some of the most rural and remote areas.

Chief executive Gerard Greene said the issue with loss-making prescriptions had become acute over the past eight months.

"We're worried about the ability of the sector to continue meeting its obligations to wholesalers and also to provide the services that the public have come to depend on during the pandemic and since," he said.

'Even worse problems'

Community Pharmacy NI is calling on the department to revise the amount of money it gives to pharmacies.

"It's important at a time when the health service is really struggling that we resource the parts of the system that are working," Mr Greene added.

"We're pleading with the department to recognise how frail the sector is and to invest accordingly.

"Without it there will be even worse problems that the health service will have to face going forward."

In November, the Department of Health announced an emergency review of community pharmacy services, which it said aims to define the services that can be reliably delivered this winter.

In 2022, the department developed a financial package worth more than £5m, which is currently being implemented.

In a statement, the department said it was very conscious of the challenges facing community pharmacies.

It continued: "The permanent secretary, Peter May, along with officials from the department, met representatives of Community Pharmacy NI in November to discuss the current challenges facing the sector and the urgent work ongoing to address a number of issues.

"The emergency review is nearing completion and the Permanent Secretary will shortly be meeting again with Community Pharmacy NI representatives to discuss the findings and next steps."