Leeds pharmacist says sector is on ‘life support’

When Ashley Cohen founded her Leeds pharmacy in 2006, she thought going to work was a pleasure.

He could “focus on serving and caring for” patients in his communities in Seacroft and Halton.

However, government funding for community pharmacies has decreased over the last decade.

Mr Cohen says it is “getting harder and harder” every year and that distributing drugs is now “incurring losses”.

Stating that he believed the situation was critical and the sector was on “life support”, he warned that if there was no urgent intervention this side of Christmas, “end of life care” would be required.

The National Pharmaceutical Association (NPA) says core government funding for community pharmacies in England has fallen by 40% after adjusting for inflation since 2015/16.

The NPA supported the “work to manage the vote”; This means many pharmacies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland could reduce opening hours unless an “increase in pharmacy funding” is agreed with the government.

Mr Cohen, who runs Pharm-Assist pharmacies, says he has seen costs and overheads rise over the last decade, which he points to an increase in the national living wage and employer National Insurance contributions he has to cover.

In addition, he says, government funding does not cover the cost of prescriptions that patients need, meaning dispensing drugs is a loss for their pharmacies.

He gives the example of blood pressure medication which cost him £4.50 for a patient prescription for a month, but the government only reimburses him £3.

This was repeated for “many more” drugs, he says.

He does not think the situation is sustainable because “I am providing the drug budget to the government from my own pocket and that is what makes it difficult,” he says.

His overall concern is his responsibility to his staff and the local community.

He describes himself as a healthcare professional who wants to spend “his time and energy trying to prevent disease and do everything the government wants us to do to treat disease and cure people.”

He adds: “But my time is ‘do we have enough money to pay the bills in 30, 60, 90 days?’ “It’s all about asking.”

The pharmacy owner isn’t the only one with questions about the future.

Roshni Lander is a trainee pharmacist and has been with Pharm-Assist at the Halton branch since July 2024.

Ms Lander is enjoying her placement and said “it’s really nice to see and be able to help a diverse group of patients with all kinds of conditions, from all kinds of backgrounds.”

Patients told him they were worried about another local pharmacy closing.

They are now worried that the branch he works at will also close.

Since he has just graduated from university, he is worried about his future career.

Ms Lander says: “Will I be able to find a job?

“If pharmacies close, where will I go now? Will I be able to continue my career?

“So it’s stressful from that perspective as well.”

Patients who use the pharmacy shared their concerns about what would happen if the facilities were to close.

Katherine Sulley questions what people would do without “extremely valuable” services.

He says many retirees like him rely on these medications and asks: “Where else will you get your prescriptions?”

He thinks the government “will have to step in” if pharmacies are losing money and in danger of closing.

Retired nurse Beverley Grant is confident in her local pharmacy and thinks it would “make a huge impact on people” if it were to close.

As a nurse for 44 years, she also recognizes the role they play in supporting the wider NHS.

He says: “If people don’t have a local pharmacy and it’s difficult to get into GP surgeries for appointments, this will also have a huge impact on the NHS, so it’s valuable to keep practices like this open.”

The Department of Health and Social Care said pharmacies had a “vital role to play” as the government moved the focus of care from hospital to the community as part of its 10 Year Health Plan.

A spokesman said: “Sadly, we have inherited a system that has been neglected for too long and no longer supports the pharmacists we need to serve patients locally.

“We are committed to working with the industry and encourage all pharmacists to work with us to achieve what we all want – a service fit for the future.”

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