Opinion: To charge or not to charge...

The pharmacy group I work for is one of a growing number to be forced into charging for home deliveries after years of offering this service at the cost of the business. 

It was a painful decision to begin charging for deliveries, but an inevitable one in the light of chronic underfunding by the Government and NHS England.

Many of our patients have come to rely on our deliveries. But while a lot of patients will be willing to pay, others on low incomes will find it difficult. That is very upsetting for community pharmacists like me, who have always prided ourselves on being accessible to everyone and addressing healthcare inequalities.

Cutting costs

Unfortunately, this is a cost we can no longer bear, despite the efficiencies we have already made across our pharmacies to manage down costs.

Fresh NHS investment for providing a common conditions service is welcome but may not come on stream for a while longer yet. In the meantime, cash flow is a threat to the viability of many pharmacy businesses and cutting costs in this way is a rational short-term response.

Of course, there are some providers, notably distance selling pharmacies, that continue to deliver to people’s homes without charge – but we hope our patients will stick with us because of the quality of care we give and because they value a local clinical service in their neighbourhood.

Growing trend

A survey by the NPA showed that in 2022 half of pharmacy businesses had limited, stopped or begun charging for at least one previously free-of-charge service, such as home deliveries.

Other value adding services, such as extended opening hours and MDS trays, are also on the decline, according to the survey. 

My advice to pharmacies thinking about charging for deliveries is to do a thorough cost-benefit analysis that takes into account the potential impact on patient loyalty but also properly weighs the cost of deliveries in the current inflationary environment. 

Give your patients plenty of warning and take the opportunity to remind them of the benefits of your locally-based pharmacy service.