A first class part of our NHS

For many of us Matt Hancock’s admission that community pharmacies were an “after thought” during the pandemic pretty much sums up how we feel about the state of our sector today.

The suspicion that we are the poor relations of the NHS is only reinforced by UK Government’s decision to cover the increases in National Insurance for the NHS, but not for NHS contractors like us. That tax rise, along with rises in the national living wage, affect pharmacies in every part of these Islands.

Be in no doubt, we’ll be raising Mr Hancock’s revelations about the attitudes towards our network within NHS England at the highest level.

Colleagues and our Chair Nick Kaye, were out in the media on Friday – working with colleagues in the other pharmacy bodies – making the case that national insurance and the living wage increases could prove devastating for many in our network. Government must make sure the costs are adequately covered.

Unity is vital, so we were pleased to sign a joint letter to the UK Government with our colleagues from CPE, CCA and IPA, which was featured on UK-wide channels like Good Morning Britain, the Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, LBC and Talk Sport.

We also worked with colleagues at Community Pharmacy Scotland, who's Chief Executive Matt Barclay appeared on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme to discuss the same issue.

Our ballot on action in Wales, Northern Ireland and England was a seminal moment in our sector, and has brought so many people together.

We’ve had a reply from the Welsh Government, and an offer of a meeting with the Northern Ireland administration. We await a reply from Wes Streeting in England.

We’re working on our next steps – we are suggesting you ask your local commissioners to confirm your core opening hours as a preparatory step to possible reductions in January. We’ll send you guidance on the best way to do that next week.

It’s been a very busy day in my pharmacy and we're sure it has been in yours. Winter is a tough time, but all those people we support in our communities are the reason we advocate for our amazing pharmacy network. We’re worth it.

Read our joint letter here.