Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA)

The press release issued today by DHSC and NHS England announcing the start of their discussions with CPE on community pharmacy funding is welcome. We have been keeping IPA members updated since some weeks that these discussions will start in January and hence we were expecting this news. The community pharmacy 2019 contract expired at the end of March last year and for the past year, the future of community pharmacies has been plagued with uncertainty. We urge the Government to provide our sector with a fair funding deal promptly and backdate this to provide community pharmacies with a much needed cashflow. Pharmacies are not just a core part of our primary care system, but also the fabric of our communities across the UK, it is vital that they are given the remuneration needed to deliver for communities. At IPA our slogan remains loud and clear, “invest in the community pharmacy network to save” and together with our members we will continue our lobbying and representational work to highlight this message everywhere. Leyla Hannbeck #Pharmacy #NHS https://lnkd.in/eBmjhB3v

It's great to read that the Department of Health and Social Care has officially opened discussions with Community Pharmacy England over the contractual framework for 2024/25 and 2025/26.    Analysis by the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) has shown that core funding for community pharmacies has fallen 30% in real terms since 2015, so its encouraging to see the Government recognise the issue of underfunding in its press release. As we argued in our shortages white paper, constant downward pressure on pricing combined with a decline in real-terms funding is exacerbating supply issues. It is vital that the next deal addresses the broken economic framework for the dispensing of generic medicines.    These negotiations also present the Government with the perfect opportunity to fulfil its manifesto commitment of better utilising community pharmacy to deliver care closer to home. The Pharmacy First scheme is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the service provision potential that community pharmacy offers. Empowering pharmacies to deliver more NHS services will relieve pressures in primary and secondary care while increasing patient access.   #NHS #CommunityPharmacy #GenericMedicines  

We are looking forward to welcoming our members and partners to our first member event of 2025 on 5th February. Our events are the best networking events in community pharmacy where pharmacy owners, key players in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, supply chain and innovative service providers come together to enhance business and patient care. Registration will close on 31st January. See you there 😊 #Pharmacy

The unacceptable delay in the pharmacy funding talks has left the sector demoralised. In December we highlighted that the Pharmacy Minister Stephen Kinnock had acknowledged that community pharmacy has had 28% real term cuts to its funding and we called on the Minister and the Government to address this unfairness by providing the sector with a 28% uplift in funding. Please see below 👇 https://lnkd.in/emtQXy3h We have also been highlighting to parliamentarians and officials our robust calculations showcasing the devestating impact of the rise of employers NI on our sector and called for community pharmacy to be exempt from this. Next week, the Government will be starting the discussions on community pharmacy funding with the sector and an offer will be made. To this effect, we are holding a virtual meeting with our members on Thursday 16th January to discuss their views on the next steps should the offer not be acceptable. Members can get further info and register for the virtual meeting by contacting: [email protected] #Pharmacy

It was great for our CEO, Peter Cattee, to have the opportunity this afternoon to meet Kemi Badenoch MP, leader of the Conservative party. Peter was able to emphasise that 70% of the #pharmacy sector is operated by family businesses (such as Peak Pharmacy) and to remind her that many of our problems originated before the current government. We hope after today she is able to raise the concerns of our sector and help accelerate positive changes for community pharmacy as a whole. #CommunityPharmacy

David Vanns: ‘I have deep angst... we are caught in a trap’ https://lnkd.in/ghzZcqrc As industry giant David Vanns moves into an advisory role at Weldricks after three decades with the company, he shares his thoughts on funding negotiations, DSPs, hub and spoke, and the future for pharmacy’s family businesses in an exclusive Q&A with C+D...

I'm incredibly proud of all the amazing RB Healthcare colleagues in our branches and support teams. 2024 has been a year of huge change for our business, and the team spirit shown by everyone involved has allowed us to navigate to a much stronger position to give great patient care throughout 2025 and beyond. We are not a corporate machine—our success comes from the thinking, ideas, and hard work of the team on the ground. It’s this hands-on, collaborative approach that has enabled us to keep moving forward during such challenging times. Without the commitment and dedication of our team, we would undoubtedly struggle. It would be easy to go on about the negative funding of our sector—we really need the community to recognise our underfunding and hope the likes of the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) can work effectively to get the deal we need to provide safe patient care—but I personally want to celebrate the hard work and success of the teams on the ground dealing with customers face-to-face and the team at head office managing—or should I say juggling—the nuances of running a pharmacy business these days. On behalf of these amazing colleagues, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Here's to a positive 2025, building on the hard work and successes of this year, and continuing to deliver outstanding patient care. (Let's hope the pharmacy sector now gets a fair and workable funding agreement (Leyla Hannbeck)- it was certainly on our Christmas list! 🤞 ) Dane Stratton-Powell Billy Kochhar James Moir

We wish all our members and partners a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year🎄🎉 Thank you for your continuous support. Together we have shaped IPA into a growing organisation that brings originality, continuity and an intelligent strategic representative voice for our members — an organisation where innovative and forward thinking business leaders come together to achieve the best outcomes for healthcare and patient care. 2024 was a difficult year for the community pharmacy sector. The very fact that the sector’s funding is delayed despite the clear evidence and data which we have consistently provided showcasing a shortfall of £1.7 billion in the core funding and pharmacies not being able to survive, is simply cruel. But we wish to remain optimistic and hopeful for 2025 and we look forward to continuing working with you. See you on the 5th February at our first member event of 2025 😊. #Pharmacy #NHS #Business #Patientcare

It is great to see the Pharmacy Minister making such positive comments about community pharmacy in this week’s Parliamentary debate which took place on Tuesday. https://shorturl.at/2yAKU Transcript: https://shorturl.at/1Lqjl In his response to enquiries by Members of the Parliament, Minister Stephen Kinnock outlined that the Government “inherited a system that has been starved of funding, with 28% cut in real terms”. See screenshot below 👇. This means that the Government realises and admits that there is a massive funding gap in our sector, a real term cut of 28%. As such it is only fair and right that the Government and officials address this real term cut to community pharmacy funding by giving a 28% uplift to the community pharmacy sector - we are calling on the Minister and officials to do this urgently as our sector is struggling to survive. #Pharmacy #NHS #Budget Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA)