The Government has been urged to “cough up the cash for community chemists” amid fears many are teetering on the brink of closure.
MPs ramped up pressure on ministers to secure the future of struggling pharmacies, which have offered lifeline support during the pandemic.
Tory former minister Jackie Doyle-Price said it could be “curtains” for chemists who stepped up during the crisis after being assured by Rishi Sunak that the NHS would get whatever cash it needed.
And Tory MP Chris Green told MPs: “Whilst we would normally want to reduce aches and pains and coughs and colds, if the minister could ensure that the Chancellor and the Prime Minister cough up the cash for community chemists.”
In a parliamentary debate on Thursday, MPs demanded help for the sector which is facing overwhelming financial pressures.
Pharmacies in England dispense around 1 billion prescriptions and deliver more than 48 million consultations per year, saving nearly 500,000 GP appointments and 57,000 A&E and walk in centre visits each week, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) estimated.
But a study by accountancy firm Ernst&Young in September found 72% of independent chemists could be losing money by 2024.
It also found that community pharmacists are underfunded by £497 million a year.
Ms Doyle-Price, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy, said: “Our pharmacists today are facing debts simply because they kept open.
“They had to supply their own PPE, they had to invest in keeping the shops Covid-secure, they had to deal with staff absence due to sickness and self isolation and they had to deal with increased wholesale prices in medicines.”
She urged the Government to write off £370 million of advance payments, which some pharmacies will struggle to repay.
Ms Doyle-Price said: “It will mean curtains for some businesses who acted in good faith after being promised the NHS would receive all the money it needed to fight the pandemic.
“No pharmacist should be left out of pocket for stepping up to this challenge.”
Labour MP Taiwo Owatemi said pharmacies had been a “shining light in dark times for our high street”, as well as easing pressure on the rest of the NHS.
She added: “This is an investment that will pay for itself many times over.”
Shadow Health Minister Alex Norris said repayment of the loans, which amounted to an average £32,000 per pharmacy, were a “real burden”.
“This could well harm patient care,” he warned, saying the total sum amounted to just 1% of the £37billion spent on the under-fire Test and Trace scheme.
He said: “Rather than a 100th of the funding, I think community pharmacies probably had 100 times the impact, frankly.”
Health Minister Jo Churchill praised the work of community chemists but admitted that funding had not been enough and said she was working with the sector.
She said pharmacists were given £370million advance payments when pressures were “extremely acute” last year, including a sharp increase in prescription items and higher drug prices.
Talks are ongoing about the reimbursement of Covid-19 costs which will be deducted from the advances, she said.
Ms Churchill added: “I am aware of concerns that current funding isn’t enough and I need to work with the sector to look at things in much more detail.”
