Community pharmacies in Wales secure 6% funding increase in CPCF for 2024/2025
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The Welsh government has confirmed an agreement with Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW) that community pharmacies in Wales will receive a 6% increase in funding as part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) for 2024/2025.
In a statement published on 20 December 2024, Jeremy Miles, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said that the funding would be used “to address both immediate pressures facing community pharmacies and to maintain momentum on our longer-term ambitions for reform, which are set out in ‘Presgripsiwn Newydd — a new prescription’”.
Mile said he was “pleased” to have reached an agreement with the NHS and CPW “on an increase of 6% in the fees and allowances payable to the sector and the distribution of the additional investment.”
“The £9.9m increase in the CPCF will take total CPCF funding to £175m a year, representing a 24% increase in funding since 2017,” Miles added.
Meanwhile, community pharmacies in England are still awaiting negotiations to commence on their CPCF (at the time of writing). The Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, recently indicated that negotiations with Community Pharmacy England would be taking place “shortly” in early 2025. Now overdue by nine months, the new contract was expected to begin in April. You can read more about England’s CPCF negotiation status here: https://www.thepharmacyshow.co.uk/show-news/health-secretary-gives-update-englands-cpcf-negotiations.
The announcement by the Welsh government follows a previous commitment to a 6% uplift across primary care that was made in September 2024.
At the time of the original negotiations, Mark Griffiths, Chair of CPW welcomed the uplift, saying that it “has come at a critical time for community pharmacies across Wales who have faced significant financial challenges over an extended period of time.”
“CPW will now want to work with Welsh Government and NHS Wales to make sure that the increased funding is allocated in a way that will enable us to reward and support our pharmacy teams whilst ensuring that the community pharmacy remains a sustainable and viable network capable of providing local communities with the highest standards of pharmaceutical care.”
“At the same time, CPW will want to ensure that the recent developments in new and innovative community pharmacy services can be sustained,” he added.
In recognition of the vital role community pharmacies play, Miles further affirmed his support in his statement: “The Welsh Government values the role community pharmacies play as an integral part of primary care in Wales and the hard work of pharmacists and community pharmacy staff.”
“As a reflection of this, we are providing record levels of investment in community pharmacy.”
Miles also mentioned that the government would continue to invest in “integrating pharmacies in primary care clusters” as well as “developing the skills and scope of practice of the wider community pharmacy workforce, including pharmacy technicians, and the Choose Pharmacy IT system.”
As England awaits an update on their CPCF negations, CPE chief executive Janet Morrison said that the negotiator has “been pushing to start negotiations for many months and this cannot happen quickly enough.”
The early months of 2025 will be crucial for determining whether community pharmacies can secure the support they need to avoid further closures and protect the essential healthcare services they provide. The funding secured by Wales stands as a hopeful indicator of positive news upon the horizon for the sector.
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