MPs warn up to half of chemists could shut

NEARLY one in two pharmacies across England could close within a year because of the pandemic and other pressures, MPs warned last night.

They raised fears that ‘unprecedented financial pressure’ partly caused by the virus crisis was pushing many of them to the wall.

They urged the Government to write off £370 million of loans made to pharmacies during the crisis, warning that many could not afford to pay the cash back.

The dire warnings came from a new report by the All-Party Pharmacy group at Westminster. They carried out a survey of 1,604 pharmacy owners and operators which revealed:

● Almost half the owners feared they could be forced to close within a year;

● Nine in 10 felt they were under financial pressure;

● More than 90 per cent felt the Government did not appreciate the role of the pharmacy in frontline healthcare.

The report warned that without more action from Ministers, financial pressure on pharmacies would cause ‘irreparable damage’ to the sector.

Sources claimed one of the main problems was that the amount a pharmacy is reimbursed by the NHS for prescription medicines is fixed, but the cost that they may have had to buy it in at could have risen. ‘That’s squeezing their profit margins,’ said a source.

Last night, Tory MP Jackie Doyle-Price, chairman of the All- Party Pharmacy Group, said it would be a ‘crying shame’ if the Government did not come to the aid of the sector.