Community Pharmacy Hopes Slashed as Government Announces Cuts to Funding
The Government has announced that community pharmacy funding will be cut by 4% for 2016-2017 and 3.4% for 2017-2018 - an overall reduction in funding to approximately £2.592bn.
Despite the last minute consideration by Pharmacy Minister, David Mowat MP, of the details behind the proposed plans to cut community pharmacy funding, that were originally planned for October of this year, the changes will take effect from 1 December 2016.
When announcing the cuts in the House of Commons, David Mowat MP, blamed the cuts on the need for more efficient use of NHS funds, the development of pharmacy 'clusters' and the push for greater integration between the various sections of the NHS as a whole. It was also announced that pharmacies which are in areas of greater health need will be protected from the cuts through the pharmacy access scheme, which covers around 1,356 pharmacies.
The announcement has caused great disappointment in the community pharmacy sector, where many were hoping for a last minute reprieve from the proposed cuts. Ian Strachan, Chairman of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has vowed that the NPA will fight implementation of cuts and has been quoted as saying that the NPA will be exploring all avenues in order to achieve this, including legal options.