Thousands of independent community pharmacies across the country are facing a cash crunch in the wake of coronavirus. Wholesale price of medicine have shot up and margins are trimmed as pharmacists report about an increased demand for prescriptions in lieu for delayed payments forcing many to close down.
Discussing the challenges that community pharmacists face today amidst abiding by the government’s social distancing rules, Umesh Patel, a community pharmacist from Sunderland said,
“The current lockdown has increased the workload for community pharmacies by more than 40%. The Government should ditch the 5-year contracts and start afresh with increased global sum or we fear that the network will collapse.
“We need more investment and financial support or this will inevitably result in closures. The money advanced to us is a loan and not extra money. We will be asked to pay that back which will hit us very hard in terms of our cash flow. The wholesalers are not budging on extended credit and are threatening to put a stop on our accounts if purchases made in March are not paid by the end of April.
“The NHS does not pay us within 30 days of dispensing prescriptions. They technically take 90 days to pay us. Why can’t we follow a payment structure like that in Northern Ireland where contractors are paid within 30 days not like in England?”
However, cash crunch is not their only challenge. Pharmacies are also concerned about staff not wanting to be deployed at frontline services amidst concerns around contracting the contagion. This is particularly heightened by complainst of aggressive behaviour, physical and verbal abuse from some consumers. Besides a shortage in the PPE, the pharmacies are also reporting about a shortage in generic medicines. Only recently, following the UK government’s request, India lifted a restriction on export of generic medicines and exported three million packets of paracetamol.
Now, after it emerged that the UK had exported substantial quantities of medicines and PPE to China, these pharmacists have urged the government to consider a total ban on exports of medicines to ensure proper supply of these drugs in the UK.
“Hoarding of medicines does not help anyone and it also pushes the price up and creates false shortages. The Government needs to investigate the supply chain whilst exporting medicines at the expense of small pharmacy shops who are deprived of vital medicines to be dispensed on prescriptions,” Patel insisted.
Responding to these concerns, Andrew Lane NPA Chair said,
“To keep vital pharmacy services going, including the supply of medicines, we need protective equipment to reach pharmacy teams without delay and funding to cover our vastly increased costs. This will allow pharmacies to keep their doors open and continue giving patients the support they need on the NHS frontline.”
