Numark managing director Jeremy Meader has warned pharmacies in Northern Ireland are facing “a perfect storm” of poor funding and increased drug prices and urged the country’s devolved government to support them with more money and better medicines reimbursement arrangements. 

Mr Meader (pictured) criticised the Department of Health’s recent offer of £5.3m to help community pharmacy cope with rising costs, insisting it “falls far short” of what is needed to plug a £20m to £30m reduction in funding.

“Almost £5m of that £5.3m figure is in the form of a loan which needs to be paid back,” he said, calling on ministers to allow Northern Ireland to have its own drug price arrangements like Scotland instead of being tied to the Drug Tariff in England or risk pharmacies not being able to pay for drugs which would impact patients.

“Customers tell us that they have never seen such astronomical prices and fluctuations which combined with medicine shortages and under-funding poses a significant risk to patient access to essential care,” Mr Meader said.

“These are not created by wholesalers, but a reimbursement mechanism which is no longer fit-for-purpose for today’s medicine supply chain in Northern Ireland.   

“It simply cannot be acceptable that if the situation deteriorates further there is a real risk that community pharmacists may no longer be able to afford to pay for commonly prescribed drugs used to treat health conditions including osteoporosis, high blood pressure, insomnia, mental health and coronary conditions as Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland recently warned members of the legislative assembly, ministers and officials.”

Again pointing to the funding support pharmacies receive in Scotland, Meader said it was “time then to rethink medicine reimbursement arrangements and make those work in the best interests of the sector and patients of Northern Ireland".

“We need to see the kind of support strategy and sustainable funding we see in Scotland,” he said. “Of course, matters are more complex in Northern Ireland given the current political stalemate, but our customers are facing a perfect storm of under-funding; Cat M adjustments; increasing prices; increasing cost to do business; and paying back advance payments.

“No business or organisation can sensibly plan for and invest in the future when its future funding flows are so insecure and unpredictable.”