‘We’re paying from our own pockets to fund the NHS’

The owner of a community pharmacy has said those in the industry are having to “pay from our own pockets” to fund the NHS.

Moin Kolia, who owns Moin’s Chemist and Wellbeing Centre, in Leicester and Market Harborough, Leicestershire, said “survival” was a “big question” at the moment for community pharmacies.

This comes as a report published by Community Pharmacy England said the sector had seen a 30% funding cut in real terms over the last decade and added 51% of stores were operating at a loss.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said community pharmacies were at the heart of local healthcare and it was working to “turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect”.

DHSC said it wanted pharmacies to “play a bigger role” as “we shift care out of hospitals and into the community through our Plan for Change”.

Pharmacy leaders have warned that pharmacies in England are still “teetering on the brink” despite an uplift in their funding announced earlier this year.

About 90% of an average pharmacy’s funding is provided by the NHS, which is supposed to cover the cost of core services such as dispensing prescription medication and running vaccination campaigns, but this has historically been cut.

Mr Kolia said: “It’s very difficult at the moment for pharmacies. In so many ways we’ve been squeezed at every point and survival is now a big question.”

He told the BBC that despite challenges the business was “getting through it”, but said: “I’ve used up most of my savings and had to borrow from friends and family to support my business.

“We’re having to invest and pay from our own pockets to fund the NHS,” he added.

The report by Community Pharmacy England – based on a survey of more than 800 pharmacy owners – said 45% were using personal savings to keep their businesses afloat.

According to the report, rising operational costs, inflation, staff wages, and unpredictable income were undermining their ability to operate sustainably.

It said: “With around 90% of most pharmacies’ income coming from dispensing medicines and delivering NHS services, rising cost pressures are threatening their ability to continue offering vital patient care.”

Harvinder Singh, a pharmacist at Glasshouse Chemist in Nottingham, has worked in the industry for 20 years.

He said issues with NHS funding for certain drugs had affected the business, with some customers’ prescriptions unavailable because of “price hikes”.

Mr Singh said the pharmacy had branched out into providing other treatments to make ends meet, with beauty products such as hydrafacials and even Botox on offer.

“We’re giving out medicines at a loss,” he said.

“If you’re giving out medicines at a loss, you’ve got staff to pay, you’ve got all the usual utility bills and these things – no business can run at a loss.”

A DHSC spokesperson said: “This year we increased funding to community pharmacies to almost £3.1 billion – representing the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS for 2025/2026 – providing patients with more services closer to home and freeing up GP appointments.”

Community Pharmacy England said the “significant financial uplift” in funding agreed by the government took place after the survey was carried out between January and March 2025.

However, it added there was a £2 billion shortfall, and the body called on the government and the NHS to increase core pharmacy funding.

Mr Kolia said although he welcomed the increase in funding, it had “not even come close” to bridging the gap.

Additional reporting by Liam Barnes