An estimated 3.4 million hours of community pharmacy access is lost in England each year due to under-pressure premises reducing their opening hours, the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) has claimed.
The CCA suggested that the deterioration of pharmacy access should be added to (integrated care board) ICB risk registers and that ICBs could review local service remuneration, increase opportunities for additional income through new commissioning, and implement local policies such as branded generic prescribing.
This research is based on analysis of the Consolidated Pharmaceutical List that shows a net loss of almost 64,000 pharmacy weekly opening hours between September 2022 and June 2024.
The CCA also noted wide regional variation in reduced hours, with NHS Devon, the most affected ICB, losing around three times as many hours per 100,000 population as NHS North Central London. (See map below)
Reduced opening hours make up more than a third (38%) of overall lost access to community pharmacies, with the rest being caused by pharmacies closing their doors completely, the CCA said.
Pharmacies in the 20% most deprived communities in England reduced their hours by 3.6 times more than those in the 20% least deprived communities, the CCA analysis revealed.
Without action, longstanding health inequalities could be worsened by this trend, since people in deprived communities may struggle more with access due to inflexible working hours, increased caring commitments and lack of personal transport, the CCA warned.
It also noted that people in deprived communities may have greater healthcare needs, with obesity affecting one in three people, while almost a quarter of adults in the most deprived communities smoke.
Nearly a quarter (24%) of lost opening hours affected the 10% most deprived areas in England, while just 4% of reduced hours affected the 10% least deprived areas.
The CCA said that a ‘significant proportion’ of the decline in pharmacy opening hours was a result of 2023 regulatory easements allowing 100-hour pharmacies to reduce their hours to a minimum of 72 hours each week.
‘Whilst these pharmacies make up less than 10% of the number of community pharmacies, they contribute greatly to the extended access valued by patients,’ the CCA said.
‘Nearly one in five (17%) 100-hour pharmacies closed between September 2022 and June 2024. A staggering two-thirds (66%) reduced their hours when permitted to do so.’
And the overall the number of pharmacies open to patients for 100 or more hours per week has decreased by almost 90%, it warned.
‘This can have a significant impact on people who have urgent or palliative care needs. It also reduces access to those in deprived communities, who are more likely to access care outside of the core working hours,’ the CCA added.
But the trade body said the regulatory changes relating to 100-hour pharmacies were just one factor among ‘huge financial pressure’ facing the community pharmacy sector.
Malcolm Harrison, CCA chief executive, commented that ‘without action, more pharmacies will either close or be forced to further reduce their opening hours’.
‘Community pharmacies want to deliver more care for patients but are held back by a broken NHS funding contract,’ he said, stressing pharmacies ‘desperately need additional money just to survive, and further long-term investment if they are do more’.
The CCA also called for a national review of community pharmacy funding, as well as new national services to be commissioned through community pharmacies 'immediately'.
In particular, it suggested that over 30 million GP appointments 'could be easily transferred to community pharmacies every year' if the Pharmacy First service was expanded to include pharmacist prescribing.
In response, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'This government inherited a broken NHS where pharmacies have been neglected for years.
'We are committed to supporting community pharmacists, which have a vital role to play as we pursue our mission to shift the focus of care out of hospitals and into the community.'
A spokesperson for NHS England said: 'The NHS knows how important pharmacies are for local communities. That's why, from training up more pharmacists under the Long Term Workforce Plan to rolling out new services for common conditions through Pharmacy First, we are backing community pharmacy.'
A version of this story was first published on our sister title The Pharmacist.
