CPE calls new funding deal a ‘reluctant yes’

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) was “reluctant” to accept the new pharmacy funding deal due to the significant funding gap, said the organisation’s chief executive Janet Morrison, while recognising the settlement as the first step towards stabilising the sector.

Addressing the 2025 Pharmacy Business Conference on Sunday at London Hilton Wembley, Janet shared insights into the behind-the-scenes work that led to the agreement.

“I've always believed that negotiations start before we enter the room, and that's the strategy we've been pursuing for the last two and a half years. It's really important because by the time we walk in the room with the Department of Health and NHS England, the parameters of what they can offer us have been set already by the Treasury and by their finance schemes.”

She noted that, throughout the negotiations, CPE has consistently emphasised the potential and opportunities that community pharmacy can offer.

“We were very clear that we have to align the direction of travel, what we want for the sector, with the political goals that the leaders of the political parties have.”

According to her, formal negotiations began on 26 January and were concluded in just six weeks.

The government’s internal approval process—which normally takes a month—was expedited to ensure that the deal was completed before the beginning of the financial year.

“It was a tough process,” Janet admitted.

She described the funding uplift as the biggest within the NHS, demonstrating “a vote of confidence in the sector” at a key point as the government drafts the 10-year plan and prepares for the next Treasury spending review.

The sector has secured a £3 billion funding package for the coming year, with the Single Activity Fee (SAF) rising by 19p to £1.46 per item. The package is the first new funding for community pharmacy since 2023, representing a 15% increase higher than any other part of the NHS.

An extra £215 million has also been confirmed to continue the Pharmacy First and other Primary Care Recovery Plan initiatives.

Janet shared the reason behind CPE’s decision to accept the deal despite the funding gap.

“We took a lot of time considering what would be the consequences of saying no, and the committee thought long and hard of this.

“If we said no, there was no guarantee that we would retain the quantum of funding that is now on the table for 25/26. It would pretty certainly have delayed any funding being decided and it was pretty clear that the allocations that we'd argued for wouldn't necessarily be guaranteed.”

“So, they could just go back, give us what they want in the way they wanted to. So, we wanted to retain those.”

“Politicians are human beings, and if they go the extra mile to get you more resources, and you say, I don't want it, are they going to ever take that step again?

“The black holes in finances exist across the whole of the NHS. There are bills to pay across the whole of the NHS, so we have to be mindful of the importance of political goodwill.”

This deal, she noted, marks “the first time the government has listened to us in a very long time.”

She added that the government has committed to working with them to set out “a sustainable funding and operating model for the future.”

Further government pledges include a review of margin distribution and the medicines supply chain, the delivery and capping of Pharmacy First and other services, and an early start to the 2026/27 negotiations shortly after the summer.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting addresses Pharmacy Conference via video

Rebuilding community pharmacy

Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the new deal for community pharmacy as a "vital step forward" for the sector and pledged to deliver the fundamental reforms needed to revitalise the sector through the government’s plan for change.

“We're demonstrating our commitment to rebuilding community pharmacy for the long term by starting to address some of the challenges you face and moving towards more stability for the sector,” Streeting said in a video address to the conference.

He highlighted that, despite the difficult financial situation facing the government, they have prioritised investment in community pharmacy.

Alongside investment, Streeting stressed the need for reform to support the shift of care from hospitals into the community and improve patient access.

“This deal indicates we're committed to this journey with you. You have a lot of work to do, but through our plan for change, we'll deliver the fundamental reforms needed to revive the sector,” he said.

David Webb, chief pharmaceutical officer of NHS England

David Webb, chief pharmaceutical officer of NHS England, described the agreement on a new contractual framework community as “a significant step in the right direction for the sector.”

He stressed the need to start focusing on the future of professional practice—particularly the independent prescribing service—by building opportunities for education, training and service development.

David confirmed that the government’s 10-year health plan will be published this spring, setting out how a modern health service will meet the changing needs of the changing population.

The CPCF settlement, he stated, underlines the importance of community pharmacies as “an integral part of the NHS”, supporting the shift from hospital-based care to community care, and from treating illness to preventing it.

David also announced that the Independent Prescribing Pathfinder programme—designed to explore an expanded clinical role for pharmacists as part of the primary care team—is making good progress, with over 11,000 consultations already carried out by community pharmacy independent prescribers.

The Pathfinders will help establish a framework for the future commissioning of NHS community pharmacy clinical services incorporating independent prescribing.

David revealed that a commissioning framework is currently in development, and guidance for ICBs is being prepared.

A digital discovery programme is also underway to develop a set of capabilities that will inform future standards for a community pharmacy EPS system, he stated.

He further emphasised that the enhanced role of pharmacy technicians is critical to achieving the ambitions for the future practice of community pharmacists, noting that NHS England is currently funding educational support for 725 pharmacy technician apprenticeships in the sector.

Shailesh Solanki, executive editor of Pharmacy Business

Need to adopt new ways of working

Shailesh Solanki, executive editor of Pharmacy Business, welcomed the government’s recognition of community pharmacy, describing it as “heartening” that the sector’s important role in primary care, supporting patients at the heart of local communities, has been acknowledged.

However, he noted that the funding falls well short of what the sector requires and emphasised that “stabilising the profession and getting community pharmacy back on its feet” is essential.

Citing the findings of the economic review, Solanki pointed out a significant gap between the cost of delivering NHS services and what pharmacies will be paid.

“To move forward, we must adopt new technologies, train pharmacy teams and develop new services to achieve sustainability. This will require disrupting the current model and embracing innovation,” he said.

L-R: Yasmin Karsan, Pritee Panchmatia and Fin McCaul

During a panel discussion on ‘Digital Health and Technology,’ Pritee Panchmatia, director and superintendent pharmacist at Howletts Pharmacy, noted that pharmacy, in some respects, has never been more difficult than it is today.

“There's huge financial strain, and patient demand is getting higher and higher,” she said, stressing the need to find a way of working more efficiently.

Pritee shared how adopting new technologies, particularly the Titan PMR system and drug comparison software, Accurx, transformed her pharmacy’s workflow, freeing up pharmacists to focus on clinical services, skill development tand patient engagement.

Yasmin Karsan, AI Engineer at The Digital Clinical Safety Company, emphasised the potential of AI to empower pharmacy teams and business owners through automation, workflow optimisation, and digital content creation for community engagement and marketing.

“We're moving into a world of social media where our new patients will be buying things from the TikTok Shop. They’ll be watching reels and content from influencers. This is why we need to diversify our portfolios to be able to advertise through those avenues,” she said.

Furthermore, she emphasised that by leveraging data from PMR systems, businesses can gain better buying power and prepare for global market changes.

“One of the biggest opportunities in terms of growing your business is have a look and see what everyone else is doing,” said Adele Curran, chief operating officer at Real World Analytics (RWA) Pharmacy.

Adele highlighted the importance of using both NHS public data and pharmacy PMR systems to drive service growth.

L-R: Baba Akomolafe, Rachna Chhatralia, Patricia Tigenoah-Ojo and Raj Matharu

Optimising Service Opportunities

The conference featured a panel discussion on how to optimise service opportunities.

Patricia Tigenoah-Ojo, superintendent pharmacist at Stevens Pharmacy, highlighted the importance of diversifying services beyond NHS services, including minor illnesses and the travel clinic.

Rachna Chhatralia, superintendent pharmacist at Day Lewis Pharmacy, said that they use custom tools like a CRM system to target specific groups of patients with tailored advice suggestions and services, a booking system with a feedback loop to continuously improve service delivery, and a compliance hub to audit and train staff, ensuring high-quality, safe service delivery.

However, she expressed concern about inequality across the sector and stressed the need for a sector-wide infrastructure to provide training, audits, and support to all pharmacies.

“We've lost so many pharmacies to date, and we've just got to make sure that we do support everyone when it comes to service delivery,” she added.

Baba Akomolafe, superintendent pharmacist at Christchurch Pharmacy, suggested the idea of a unified QR code for community pharmacies to streamline patient access and service delivery.

“If we sit here waiting for the NHS to fix us, it's not going to happen. We need to come together. We have enough talent in the sector who can design things that we can unify and use,” he stated.

“Optimizing services comes from when you decide to make the change and stand up to be a leader within your community pharmacy. So, nothing's going to be handed to you. You're going to have to graft for what you need to achieve within your pharmacy,” said Raj Matharu, CEO of Community Pharmacy South East London, who moderated the session.

“Seven clinical conditions are the ones that you need to focus on moving forward because that's what's going to earn you the incentive payments and that is worth more than anything else in terms of return investment within your pharmacy.”

L- R: Nicola Stockmann, Robert Townsend, Atul Patel and Amerjit Singh

Skill Mix in Pharmacy

In another panel discussion, Robert Townsend, independent prescriber, Ashington Way Pharmacy; Nicola Stockmann, president, Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK; Atul Patel, superintendent pharmacist at Lincoln Pharmacy and Amerjit Singh, managing director of Sharoe Green Pharmacy/ Skills4Pharmacy explored how to drive pharmacy businesses forward by utilising the right people with the right skills doing the right things.

“The workforce is your greatest asset,” said Nicola, noting that investment shouldn't just apply to technology or infrastructure but should extend to the entire pharmacy team, including pharmacy technicians and assistants.

“When we're talking about independent prescribing, we need to bring the entire workforce with us so we are agile as an entire pharmacy team, not just for the innovations for individual professions within the pharmacy.”

Wole Ososami, lead pharmacist at Westbury Chemist

Wole Ososami, lead pharmacist at Westbury Chemist, who won Pharmacy Business of the Year 2024 underscored the importance of investing in innovation, leadership, and people.

“Innovation to us is just not about tech. It's about solving real problems for real people, creating the opportunity for the customers to have their time and make things easy for them to do business with us,” he said.

“Innovate with purpose, pitch and put people at the center of everything because people matter.”

Conference chair Reena Barai reflected on the day's discussions, highlighting key points from various speakers.

Echoing Janet’s point that “negotiations start before we enter the room,” she stressed the collective responsibility to engage with local leaders, patients, and MPs.

“We've got a big task at hand for us to stay at the top of the agenda” she concluded.