Views sought on pharmacy contract changes and financial security

Pharmacy owners are being asked to share their views on their financial security and on a range of key changes following the latest contract, in a new poll by Community Pharmacy England (CPE).

The negotiator said the poll would help its committee review the impact that the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) settlement is having across the sector, and to demonstrate this to ministers and officials.

It wants to hear opinions on latest pharmacy service developments, including the introduction of emergency contraception, changes to enable better use of skill mix and a new route to rearrange core opening hours.

Pharmacy owners will also be asked about ‘the current financial situation’ facing their pharmacy business, and about their confidence in the government to support the sector, as well as their hopes for the highly anticipated NHS 10-Year Health Plan.

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CPE recognised that two months after the new CPCF settlement, the ‘implementation of various service and regulatory changes is still underway, and the uplifted funding is only just beginning to flow through to pharmacies’.

‘There is still much work to be done to help ease the capacity challenges and financial pressures burdening pharmacy businesses,’ it added.

As part of a £3.073bn deal in the framework for 2025/26, several changes have come about for the sector, including a new route that gives more scope for pharmacy owners to apply to change the dates and times of their core opening hours.

At the beginning of this month, the Pharmacy First ‘bundling requirements’ also came into force, meaning pharmacies must be registered to deliver the Pharmacy Contraception Service, Hypertension Case Finding Service and Pharmacy First – in addition to delivering the minimum number of clinical pathway Pharmacy First consultations – to receive a fixed monthly payment.

And from October 2025, contractors will also be required to deliver one Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) per month.

Also from October, a new national emergency hormonal contraception (morning-after-pill) service will be commissioned from community pharmacies in England which will standardise the service for both patients and pharmacies.

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And following regulatory changes within the community pharmacy sector, it was revealed last week that no new distance selling pharmacies (DSPs) will be allowed as of 23 June 2025.

The poll takes place ahead of the next full CPE Committee meeting at the end of this month (25th and 26th June).

The poll also asks questions about the pressure pharmacies face. Its standard pressures tracker asks pharmacy owners to reflect on a range of persistent pressures on their businesses, from medicine market instability and increasing demand for services to inflation and utility bills.

The survey, which closes on 11.59pm on Sunday 22 June 2025 is for community pharmacy owners only and CCA multiple branches do not need to respond, as their head offices will be contacted separately, CPE noted.

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Feedback from its last poll in November 2024 included themes of financial strain, business sustainability issues, staffing challenges, morale and frustration with government lack of progress on negotiations.

Workforce costs were reported as the most significant pressure facing pharmacy owners with unpredictable revenue streams being the second most intense pressure on pharmacy businesses.