Every day, 1.6 million people visit a pharmacy in England, but most pharmacies are operating at a loss, facing workforce shortages and medicines supply instability.

Sadik Al-Hassan chair of the APPG on Pharmacy, said: ‘Community pharmacies are an essential cornerstone of local healthcare, relied upon by millions each week for convenient, trusted, and professional care. The message from our report is clear: pharmacies stand ready to do more, but urgent action is needed to close the funding gap, support the workforce, and put community pharmacy at the heart of primary care reform with a strong vision for the sector.

‘With the right investment and policy support, pharmacies can help address many of the most pressing challenges facing the NHS – improving access, supporting prevention, and enabling people to stay healthy and in work. Now is the time to recognise and realise the full potential of England's pharmacy network as a central pillar of health policy reform and dream the reality of pharmacy for 2035."

The Future of Community Pharmacy in England report outlines seven priority recommendations to unlock pharmacy's potential in delivering accessible, cost-effective care and supporting wider health policy reform, particularly the implementation of the Government's 10-Year Health Plan.

The report calls for:

• action to close the £2bn annual funding gap
• pharmacies as fully integrated local health hubs
• expand Pharmacy First into a national, walk-in clinical service
• empower the pharmacy workforce
• action on medicines supply
• integrate community pharmacy into NHS systems & leadership
• grow community pharmacy role in long-term condition management
• reducing pressure on GPs and hospitals.

In response, NPA chief executive Henry Gregg, said: ‘This timely report amounts to a rallying cry for action to save the nation's community pharmacy network, which has so much to offer patients and the wider healthcare system.'

He adds: ‘The APPG lays out the stark current reality of financial gloom and workforce pressures. Yet their report is not a counsel of despair – it describes how a properly supported pharmacy network can be an enormous force for good in our communities, now and long into the future.'

The report can be viewed here.