The underfunding situation is so severe that some chemists on the brink could stop providing NHS prescriptions if the Government fails to adequately cover the cost of the drugs.<\/p>\n
One leading pharmacist<\/a> told The i Paper that they were at risk of going out of business in weeks due to a lack of funding.<\/p>\n Pharmacies are losing thousands of pounds a year as they cover the shortfall between the cost of supplying six commonly dispensed drugs and the amount they are reimbursed by the NHS, according to analysis by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).<\/p>\n In some cases, medicines are underfunded by up to 80 per cent. On average, the NHS pays 88p towards a pack of 28 aspirin while pharmacies have to pay nearly \u00a34, said the NPA, which represents around 6,000 independent community pharmacies.<\/p>\n New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n The pressure of purchasing medicines at a loss means pharmacies\u2019 role of dispensing medication, a cornerstone of the service they provide to NHS patients, is under threat, warned the Company Chemists\u2019 Association (CCA), which represents large pharmacy chains.<\/p>\n It comes as the Government has banned aspirin from being exported <\/a>out of the UK due to dwindling stocks in pharmacies, with chemists warning of poor supply.<\/p>\n The low price which the UK Government pays companies for aspirin means international manufacturers<\/a> may choose other countries to sell the medicine to first.<\/p>\n \u201cDecades of underfunding have weakened the sector, and without urgent investment and reform, patient access to essential services will be at risk,\u201d said Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the CCA.<\/p>\n \u201cDispensing, whilst often undervalued and overlooked, provides enormous benefits to patients, the NHS and taxpayers. Community pharmacies remain the cornerstone of local, accessible, high-quality healthcare, yet mounting pressures threaten their ability to fulfil this role.\u201d<\/p>\n Underfunding issues mean that vital and everyday medicines for patients with a history of strokes or heart disease could become unobtainable or require patients to make trips to several pharmacies to track down, said the CCA.<\/p>\n How much everyday drugs are costing pharmacies<\/p>\n Aspirin<\/p>\n January cost data analysed by the NPA shows pharmacies on average faced a \u00a33.09 loss per pack of 28 aspirin (75mg), with only 22 per cent of the cost met by the NHS.<\/p>\n Blood pressure pills<\/p>\n Chemists absorb a \u00a34.41 loss per pack of 28 Irbesartan pills (150mg).<\/p>\n Overactive bladder medicine<\/p>\n A box of 56 Tolterodine (2mg) tablets leaves pharmacists at a \u00a310.46 loss, with the NHS covering just 28 per cent of the cost.<\/p>\n Henry Gregg, chief executive of the NPA, said: \u201cIt is a scandal that all too often pharmacies are subsidising the cost of the nation\u2019s medicines. It pushes pharmacies to the edge of closure and exacerbates chronic problems with medicine supply. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Government must stop funding pharmacies below the cost price of medicines \u2013 no other part of the NHS would tolerate this.<\/p>\n Shortages often come down to pharmacies not stocking loss-making medicines, said Olivier Picard, who is a pharmacist and chair of the NPA.<\/p>\n Asked about how pharmacists will handle funding issues, Picard said nothing was off the table but that colleagues were waiting to hear what the funding settlement for 2026\/27 would be. <\/p>\n But he added: \u201cIf the situation gets worse\u2026 and I lose money on all of those [medications] because I can\u2019t buy them for cheaper than they get reimbursed, I will go out of business in a matter of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n The CCA said while the volume of NHS-prescribed medicines has surged by 17 per cent in the past decade, the standard payment pharmacies receive to dispense medicines has only increased by 21 pence between April 2017 and April 2025, despite inflation rising almost 35 per cent over this period.<\/p>\n Its new report highlights that dispensing, accounting for 85 per cent of community pharmacy funding in England, is under \u201cunsustainable pressure\u201d.<\/p>\n Without urgent reform of the pharmacy contract with the NHS, medicine shortages<\/a> will only worsen and pharmacies could be driven out of providing services for the NHS, the NPA said.<\/p>\n Gregg added: \u201cWe want to work with the Government to implement reform and deliver care closer to millions of people, but if this situation continues, there is a real risk that more and more will be forced out of the NHS or have to close altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n An NPA survey conducted this year found that two-thirds of pharmacies made a loss in 2025 and 72 per cent of owners had raided personal savings or remortgaged their homes to keep their pharmacies open to patients.<\/p>\n Between 31 March 2017 and 31 December 2025, there was a net loss of 1,476 brick-and-mortar pharmacies \u2013 taking the total to fewer than 10,000 in England \u2013 according to figures from the NHS Business Services Authority.<\/p>\n Those that do stay open are exploring new ways to stay afloat.<\/p>\n Sangeeta Singh, a pharmacist and policy and programmes manager at the CCA, said some businesses have already switched to private-only dispensing, which means they solely fulfil prescriptions from independent healthcare providers as they can recoup all medication costs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a case of adapting to the times, really. And if something is not really supporting you in paying your bills, then you\u2019ve got to pivot to other means of making it work.\u201d<\/p>\n A CCA spokesperson said: \u201cI think you could see a scenario where pharmacies or pharmacy owners choose to only stock profitable lines in the future, so things that they\u2019re guaranteed to make a profit on, as opposed to the full kind of array of medicines.\u201d<\/p>\n Medicine shortages are one of the key challenges pharmacies face. But they are not always due to underfunding.<\/p>\n \t\tYour next read<\/p>\n![\"Olivier](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI_282568213.jpg\")
livier Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association, said that if businesses continue to dispense high volumes of medicines at a loss, they will go bust<\/p>\n
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