Funding announcement comment from Christie & Co
Jonathan Board, director & head of pharmacy at Christie & Co, said: “Whilst the funding for 2025/26 is to increase to £3.073bn and see a further £215m to fund the Pharmacy First scheme, it may not be everything that operators were hoping for following the release of the report on the economic analysis of community pharmacy as commissioned by NHS England.
It is, however, positive that there seems to be a commitment from parties to work towards a sustainable funding model to underpin the sector for the longer term, with an intention to begin 2026/27 negotiations shortly after the summer when the current government Spending Review process is concluded. This announcement finally allows pharmacy owners to understand the impact of the new funding settlement for their business after so much talk in recent times, and it will enable them to plan and invest accordingly but, as always, the devil is in the detail and does rely on progress being made on the next stage of negotiations.”