ChatterBank4 mins ago
Pharmacies Closing
The rise in the minimum wage and the additional cost of employers National Insurance contributions means closure for many pharmacies. The chairman of Numark Pharmacies which has 5500 outlets says that since 90 percent of business is NHS based, prices can't be increased and therefore the extra costs can't be recovered.
Another snag this hapless, hopeless government missed.
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10.48. Sorry but you have been fooled by the cons excuse for treatment. Prescribing Prescriptions? Maybe for the most basic of ailments, earache?
You don't really think that a Chemist is going to put his head on the block by taking over the duties of a Doctor even thou they may be ( nearly) on par with them. Very risky indeed. The truth is that most people still need to see a doctor for the problems they have
Not true.we are being nudged to use pharmacies instead of a GP. Last two calls to surgery we were referred to a pharmacy....our surgery doesn't deal with UTIs or ear wax issues and refers you to a pharmacy or Vision Express ( yes for ears!).
And I needed cream for a skin rash but because of the lack of appointments and low priority under the triage system they suggested I go to the pharmacist, which I did.
pharmacies do provide a large number of services. vaccines and blood testing alone take up a lot of slack which would otherwise not get done or be done by the nhs
i can appreciate the budget might make things slightly more difficult but i do not accept that the implication that the NI charges will have anything like the impact naomi suggests they will
this report by healthwatch concludes that the main reason community pharmacies are experiencing temporary and permanent closure is due to a lack of available staff.
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why might pharmacies who offer such an important service in many parts of the country be struggling to attract and keep staff? this is the root cause here. it is not employers having to pay higher NI contributions. i don't know enough to say for certain but if we want to slow or reverse pharmacy closures then we begin with the root cause and that is attracting and retaining staff.
that is of course assuming that this thread is actually about protecting pharmacies and not yet another thread complaining about the budget.
//Harry McQuillan, chairman of Numark Pharmacy, which has 5,500 independent community pharmacies in its network, told The Sun: “Unlike retailers and other businesses pharmacies can’t increase prices to cover these rising costs because 90 per cent of pharmacy revenue is NHS dependent.”
“I know one local pharmacy owner who is having to find £600 a month extra because of the Budget. This is not a big pharmacy, they will struggle to keep their doors open.”//
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Struggling no more than a independent butcher, baker, cakemaker Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda Morrisons have been wiping then out along with independent petrol stations. The small chemist has been going bust in small towns because the footfall has dropped due to the other small traders closing in the town, plus bigger chemists offer free delivery. So who is going to use or bother with the smaller chemist especially in a deserted high street were they can't shop for anything else?
