Pharmacies 'holding their breath' for extra NHS funding
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Commenting on the Chancellor's Budget, Paul Rees, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association said:
“Millions of people who depend on local pharmacies will be holding their breath today, hoping that the £22.6bn increase in health spending announced by the Chancellor will include money to stem the devastating closure of local health services in the past decade.
“There's absolutely no mention in the Budget of action to halt the closure of our vital NHS pharmacy network, which has been shrinking at the rate of seven a week as pharmacies are forced to close through underfunding. And pharmacies, already forced to the brink by a decade of real terms cuts, will be deeply worried by looming increases in National Insurance and the national living wage which would impose huge additional costs on their NHS-funded services if the government does not pick up the bill.
“Ministers have a huge opportunity to transform local health services for the better. We just hope that the detail includes desperately needed funding to halt the decline and realise the immense potential of the pharmacy network.”
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