Hundreds of local chemists are shutting their doors for good just as they are given more powers than ever

RISING costs have led to hundreds of pharmacies shutting for good – at a time when they have been given extra duties to help patients struggling to see their GPs.

One pharmacist told The Sun on Sunday: “I can guarantee you patients will die as a consequence of this crisis.”

AlamyRising costs have led to hundreds of pharmacies shutting for good[/caption]

Graham Phillips said: ‘Patients will die because of this crisis. The system is crumbling’

Damien McFaddenPete Perry, with wife Nikki, said: ‘The closures are devastating for me and other OAPs’[/caption]

Between 2019 and 2022, taking into account the number of pharmacy openings and closures, the net figure was down 491, leaving just 11,500 in England.

This year supermarkets have announced there will be another 244 closures.

It means the elderly and ill have no choice but to travel miles to find what they need — or go without.

NHS England’s budget for the sector was cut to £2.59billion in 2017/18 and has been frozen ever since.

Now pharmacies, which make about 80 per cent of their income from prescriptions, are often working at a loss.

The price of drugs they buy from manufacturers has increased but the reimbursement they get back from the NHS has not kept up.

They also have bigger overheads due to rising utility bills, and a shortage of trained pharmacists has forced up wages.

Since 2019, pharmacies have become more vital than ever due to the pandemic, NHS strikes, a chronic shortfall of GPs and the extra duties that have been passed to them.

Under the New Medicine Service they must now help patients manage medicines and long-term conditions.

And the Community Pharmacy Consultation service means GPs and NHS 111 can now send patients to them with minor ailments.

They have been given the responsibilities of doing Covid vaccinations, testing for hepatitis C and providing smoking cessation services.

They saw a 77 per cent increase in the flu jab uptake in 2021-22 compared with the previous year and, in one year alone between 2021 and 2022, dealt with millions of prescriptions.

‘Fancy ordering apps’

Pharmacist Graham Phillips told The Sun on Sunday: “It is a perfect storm. The system is crumbling. If pharmacists cease to exist, imagine how much more chaotic our health system will be.

“We are the front line. I can guarantee you that patients will die as a consequence of this crisis.”

Graham, 63, managing director of the Hertfordshire-based Manor Pharmacy chain, closed one of his four branches in 2020 owing to financial pressures.

He said: “The industry is like a crumbling wall — bits fall out but you still see a wall, then one day a big wind comes along and the whole thing bloody well caves in. That’s where we are.”

Later this year, pharmacies must start treating seven more ailments including earache, skin infections, shingles and basic urinary tract infections — under the Pharmacy First scheme.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay announced a £645million budget boost to go with it.

But many in the industry do not believe this will solve the crisis and it is predicted another 3,000 pharmacies will close in the next few years.

Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: “The surge in closures reveals the tough times for community pharmacies, who have faced chronic underfunding and a 30 per cent drop in real-term funding over the past seven years.

“The wave of closures this year alone, especially among larger chains, shows just how hard trading conditions are.

“When pharmacies shut, it affects the people in our local communities who rely on them daily, and puts a heavy strain on nearby pharmacies.

“Protecting community pharmacies is vital and we’ve been pressing hard for a funding boost. It is desperately needed for community pharmacies.”

Community Pharmacy England, which negotiates with the NHS and Department of Health on behalf of pharmacies, revealed to The Sun on Sunday the findings of a survey that shows 70 per cent of branches are struggling financially and 83 per cent report that care has been damaged.

Tom Gentry, of Age UK, warned: “Many older people could be at risk of their health deteriorating, and needing more intensive support.”

One of these is Pete Perry, a retired landscape gardener.

He has changed pharmacies five times in four years, owing to closures, and needs a dozen prescriptions every month.

Pete, 86, of Stevenage, Herts, said: “I’m recovering from two heart attacks, I have angina, diverticulitis and can’t walk more than 50 yards.

“Without getting my prescriptions I am at risk of heart attack — or even death. The cost-of-living crisis has meant I had to give up my car.

“The closure of pharmacies is devastating OAPs like me around Britain and people will die.

“For some elderly people, going to the pharmacy is also their main source of social interaction.

“These places are also the first to raise the alarm if elderly customers do not pick up their essential medication.

“People my age are terrified they won’t be able to get their medication.

“Many can’t work those fancy ordering apps or even use computers. They’re confused and scared.

“I can’t rely on a delivery. I’m angry and want OAPs to be heard.”

Annie Hawkins is only 45 but she, too, is fearful for her future.

She previously used the Lloyds Pharmacy in her local Sainsbury’s but all 237 such outlets across the country have now closed.

Asda said seven of its 254 in-store services are also being axed.

Annie, of Frome, Somerset, a former accounts manager who is now studying accountancy, has now had to buy a secondhand car to be able to fetch medicines from further afield.

She and her disabled daughter Sarah, 18, both live with diabetes and are stockpiling medication.

Annie said: “The closure is horrific for us. We relied on the pharmacy for advice and medication.

“It is costing us so much more money but we have no choice. If either of us has a diabetic crisis it’s potentially deadly, so I’m stockpiling. We shouldn’t have to do it.”

The industry has lost £1.6billion in the past ten years as the health service’s pharmacy contract has struggled to keep pace with the inflation rate.

Nick Kaye, chairman of the National Pharmacy Association, said the industry was now teetering on a “financial cliff edge”.

He added: “For years, pharmacies have been doing more and more NHS work for less and less payment, and we are now at breaking point.

“Fresh investment is needed urgently to avert a collapse in the number of pharmacies across England.

“This would be a crisis for the entire health care system, with GPs and hospitals quickly overwhelmed by the extra workload falling to them.”

David Taylor, Emeritus Professor of Pharmaceutical and Public Health Policy at University College London, wrote a report last year saying “major funding cuts” were taking a toll and “as many as 3,000 community pharmacies will close in England during the next few years unless further funding is made available”.

But the stresses on the system are only likely to increase with the Pharmacy First scheme.

Steve Anderson, managing director of pharmacy chain Phoenix Group, which includes Rowlands and Numark pharmacies, said the system was “dysfunctional”, with “unprecedented” medicine costs leaving pharmacies struggling.

He added: “Saving our network is not a big ask, the much-needed investment will not bankrupt the Treasury but will lead to improved outcomes for patients and reduce pressure on the NHS.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “Our additional investment of £645million to enable pharmacies to provide more services received widespread support across the sector.

“This is on top of £2.6billion of funding per year to carry out services, which was also agreed as part of a deal with the sector.

“We are expanding pharmacy training places by nearly 50 per cent and patient access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with about 80 per cent of people living within a 20-minute walk of a community pharmacy.”

Mum Annie Hawkins said: ‘My disabled daughter and I have diabetes …this is potentially deadly’Supplied