Plymouth pharmacist says he took out loan to cover costs of NHS drug

A pharmacist in Devon said he had to take out a loan to pay off his debt to a drug wholesaler because he couldn’t make enough money selling prescriptions.

Esi Kumordzi, who runs Prosecutor Tubb pharmacy in Plymouth, said her business had become unsustainable due to the difference between the amount the NHS gave her per medication and the cost of purchasing it.

The National Association of Pharmacists said a survey found 85 per cent of members had made a loss from NHS medicines.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that “actions are being taken if purchasing prices for a particular medicine increase”.

Pharmacies buy their medicines from wholesalers and receive a set amount of reimbursement per prescription from the NHS, but Ms Kumordzi said these charges had not increased since 2016.

He said he took out a loan to cover rising costs in 2023 and would leave the NHS if he had the option.

Ms Kumordzi said the NHS used a medicines tariff for reimbursements, but this often did not cover moving prices.

Each month he decides which ones to reimburse at higher rates, but that doesn’t always cover the pharmacy’s cost, he said.

The government said community pharmacy reimbursement arrangements do not guarantee that each contractor will be reimbursed for each product as much or more than the cost of securing the product.

However, it said it was only reimbursed up to what was allowed in the medicine margin (the difference between the reimbursement price the NHS paid the pharmacy to dispense the product).

Ms Kumordzi said: “It is almost impossible to run a pharmacy business at the moment, you are literally out of pocket every time you dispense a prescription.

“The NHS covers the cost of the medicine as a professional fee of £1.27 per product.

“All our expenses and salaries are paid here.

“It’s impossible to run a business when you’re paying £3 or £4 more than what the NHS is willing to pay you.”

Ms Kumordzi said she did not want to have to take out a personal loan to cover expenses.

“I haven’t finished paying the loan yet, I have a lot to pay,” he said.

“If I had the chance to leave the NHS completely I would take that option.”

The Department for Health and Social Care said: “This government inherited a broken NHS but is determined to expand the role of pharmacists and make better use of the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

“We already reimburse community pharmacies for their spending on medicines and provide additional funding for the services they provide.

“There are also measures in place in case the purchasing prices of a particular drug increase.”

The National Association of Pharmacists found in a survey of 500 pharmacies that 64 per cent of respondents said they were using savings or support from family members to keep their pharmacies running, while 85 per cent said they were experiencing a net loss from NHS prescriptions.