Pharmacy contractors will view last week’s announcement of a pay uplift for some NHS workers as “unfair,” Community Pharmacy England chief executive Janet Morrison has claimed.

On Thursday July 13 the Government announced it had accepted in full the recommendations from an independent pay review boy, and that as a result “most eligible doctors and dentists” will see their pay scales increase by at least six per cent this year, while junior doctors will receive an increase between 8.1 per cent and 10.3 per cent depending on their current stage in their training.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has described this as his final offer and said he is not prepared to reopen negotiations. Junior doctors are currently holding a five-day strike ending on Tuesday this week, while consultants are to strike on Thursday and Friday.

Responding to the Government’s offer to doctors and dentists, Ms Morrison said: “The public sector workforce pay rise will be welcome news for its recipients given the huge inflationary pressures and the ongoing impact of the cost of living crisis.

“But for community pharmacy owners – who have faced 30 per cent funding cuts in recent years and who are struggling to meet their rising wage costs – this feels unfair, and very far from good news.”

She said that although the pay rise for doctors and dentists will “undoubtedly put yet more pressure on squeezed healthcare funding” it is “critical that pharmacies get a fair deal and all the support they need to continue carrying out the services that patients, the public and the NHS need”.

She added: “At Community Pharmacy England we are fully focused on the current financial and operational pressures and fighting hard for a sustainable long-term funding arrangement.

“The £645 million Access Fund investment in community pharmacies will bring vital additional funds into the sector, and complex negotiations on this are continuing at pace.”