Source: The Patriot Light | AWK Network | VIEW ORIGINAL POST ==>
The National Pharmacy Association said that unless the government provides certainty on funding, it will recommend members take collective action.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has said pharmacies face a “financial cliff edge” due to rising taxes announced in the Autumn Budget.
The NPA said on Monday that the increase to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and the minimum wage means that pharmacies face £250 million in unplanned costs.
Nick Kaye, chairman of the NPA, said: “Pharmacies face a financial cliff edge at the beginning of April, with a triple whammy of rising National Insurance, National Living Wage and business rates all arriving at once.
“At the moment, they still have no certainty if any of these costs will be met by the Government, despite assurances for other parts of the health system including our GP colleagues.”
Kaye added that community pharmacies have been closing “in record numbers,” and that those which are left “are currently hanging on by their fingernails.”
The body, which represents 6,000 independent community pharmacies across the UK, said that without urgent clarity from the government on financial support, their…
