Community pharmacy leaders recalled the controversial letter they received 10 years ago from the government that irreparably changed the course of the community pharmacy sector.
In a LinkedIn post, community pharmacist and policy expert Mike Hewitson called 17 December, 2015, as a "date that lives in infamy for lots of pharmacy owners."
"We all received a letter (now very difficult to find online) detailing 'efficiencies' that the Government was seeking from the pharmacy sector. The proposals talked about making better use of community pharmacy.
"Ten years later, I ask myself if the government is 'making better use' of community pharmacy. Is community pharmacy in a better place than it was in 2015/6?
"The answer is a resounding NO."
Apart from some positives, such as Pharmacy First, Hypertension Case Finding, Contraception, and the Independent Prescribing Pathfinder programme, he said the sector is now in a bad shape.
"Thousands of pharmacies have closed, with huge impacts on communities and on patients. The workforce is totally demoralised and, in a lot of cases, burnt out. Pharmacy Owners have put in huge sums of their own money to keep services running.
"The second-largest pharmacy chain in 2015 no longer exists. The level of human misery that followed has been huge and is often under-appreciated and underreported."
He said the community pharmacy has taken a "disproportionate part of the pain in terms of savings and workload efficiencies with Government now recognising an effective £3bn funding gap - with services funded at 50p versus a £1 in fair return."
Referring to the ongoing resident doctor's strike, Hewitson said, "I have to ask what it will take for a sustainable level of funding to be delivered?"
The post struck a chord among other pharmacists.
Reena Barai, owner of SG Barai Pharmacy, said, "Remember receiving that letter via email and having a total heart sink moment - from disbelief to outrage, to an unfounded hope that the ‘powers that be’ will surely recognise they made a mistake and, and yet here we are, 10 years later, still in disbelief and still outraged.
"With a daily heart sink and dread of what the next nail in the coffin will be."
Pharmacy professional and National Pharmacy Association (NPA) board member Ashley Cohen lauded Hewitson for putting it so eloquently.
"I remember exactly where I was and how I felt when I received 'that letter'. We can deliver so much more, but our basic funding needs repairing.
"Step in the right direction with our current uplift, but one years deal will not repair the damage of the last decade. Invest in our sector and we will prove it’s moment well spent."
NPA chair Olivier Picard said the 10th anniversary of Keith Ridge’s open letter to the community pharmacy sector is an "uncomfortable but necessary reminder."
He added, "Community pharmacy has delivered efficiency after efficiency, yet the funding gap keeps widening. If the government genuinely wants pharmacies to play a bigger role in the NHS, the sustainability of the core service must finally be addressed."
Picard also shared a photo of long queues outside his Newdays Pharmacy on that day.
"It’s hard to overstate just how difficult the last decade has been for contractors, pharmacy teams, and the communities we serve… and as many have said, nearly 1,500 pharmacies have closed in that time. Communities have either lost their local pharmacy or seen the service steadily degraded."
He recalled how the community pharmacies had braved the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Community pharmacy didn’t step back… it stepped up. Keeping medicines flowing, delivering millions of vaccinations, and filling gaps as other services retreated by becoming the front door to health!"
"I genuinely hope the next decade is better for the sector. The government’s 10 Year Plan is an opportunity that will hopefully bring community pharmacies as an equal partner to general practice in primary care! Because let’s face it, if it isn’t, there may not be a community pharmacy sector left to protect."
In a recent report, specialist pharmacy broker Hutchings Consultants noted that in the past year, corporate and multiple operators have divested their assets rather than expand.
Corporate and multiple operators accounted for 71.3 percent of all sales instructions.
