It has been reported in a recent edition of the Chemist & Druggist magazine that community pharmacies are struggling to pay suppliers after a 20 per cent funding drop. The drop in funding which was predicted to be to be around 12 per cent has reached an alarming level down to 20 per cent.
According to the report, pharmacist CJ Patel who owns five pharmacies in Croydon, London and who is also chair of the Croydon local pharmaceutical committee (LPC) said, “We were expecting a £3,000 loss a month, per pharmacy, but it is more like an average of £6,000. Now I might be being a bit simplistic by just looking at the amount of money in my bank account each month, but that is the money I use to pay my suppliers and my staff. If that has gone down, then obviously that impacts my ability to pay these people.”
“I’m not sure whether PSNC (Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee) was misled by the government about the effect of the funding cuts, or whether the government has implemented greater cuts than they originally announced,” he added.
The problem is reported to be widespread with several pharmacies across London unable to pay suppliers with the money that they had received. Speaking to Asian Voice, Umesh Patel a well known contractor from the North East of England said,“The present payment system by NHS England is totally unacceptable. The DOH must revise the current payment to pay the full amount within 30 days of submitting all the prescriptions and services. The present NHS cuts and outdated payment structure is seriously effecting cash flows of all community pharmacies. It takes them well over 30 days to make proper adjusted payment for the prescription we submit to the pricing authority. With the available technology I fail to understand why there are delays in making payments to contractors.”
