Quizzes & Puzzles59 mins ago
Pharmacies Closing
The rise in the minimum wage and the additional cost of employers National Insurance contributions means closure for many pharmacies. The chairman of Numark Pharmacies which has 5500 outlets says that since 90 percent of business is NHS based, prices can't be increased and therefore the extra costs can't be recovered.
Another snag this hapless, hopeless government missed.
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nicebloke, do you read anything before putting stuff on here. It has been said that they were closing before Labour came into power and some of the reasons for it. What some including myself have put is that Labour had the chance to help out in the budget but instead have chosen to increase their costs with NI etc but expect them to do some of the work currently carried out by GP surgeries. As you say yourself if you want something doing it needs to be paid for. Labour want them to help but not pay for it.
In a small town there was 5 pharmacies, far too many it has now been whittled down to 3.
They all have diversified to ensure they are what the community needs.
Had the labour government helped them out there would be those complaining that they were wasting money. Let's face it labour will never win against the sore losers that are Tory voters.
9.55. It was the con government that got the chemists to do what you appear to think GPs should be doing. Thats because the cons wrecked the NHS. Anyhow chemists have always advised people what to take for a sore throat, a cold, runny nose, cold, flu, if your really thick and cant work out what to take yourself, BP test is the only thing thats been added. Take a look at what the chemist can do for you, its a joke, and like i said an excuse for the cons to pretend they had done something great to reduce the millions waiting for oppointments.
Like i said, that you all choose to ignore the cons made out that you could now see the chemist instead of waiting for a doctors appointment. Google what a chemist is allowed to do, it amounts to ZERO. He may, well he WILL, point you in the right direction of the most expensive throat tablet or bite cream on his shelf. :0))
It is more complicated than with other small business yes but not just because of financial pressures. Boots heva closed several of their small pharmacies ijn the inner city here as they do make anough money for them the goods they sell alongside their pharmacy service.
Then pharmacies are then left vacant as the Pharmacy Needs Assessment for the city says that we don't need to replace them as thre are 'eough' in the city. So no new pharmacy licences are being granted.
We ahd plenty of interested parties in reopening the pharmacy which closed where I worked, but they can't get a licence.
That is what is preventing new pharmacies from opening, not NI increases.
nicebloke, if you read my post at 09.55 you would see that I said it started under the cons but Labour had a chance to do something to change it for the better but they choose not to. Pharmacies can do things like prescribing prescriptions these days not just handing ones out that a doctor has given you.
“Take a other look inside boots, superdrug, 85% of what they sell has nothing to do with medications,…”
Whilst they make up almost 50% of the country’s pharmacy outlets, I don’t think this thread is really about Boots and Superdrug. They are large shops which happen to have a pharmacy in them. This is more to do with independent or small chain pharmacies.
Independent pharmacies make up 40% of outlets whilst small chain companies (with 6 to 99 outlets) make up about 12%. It is these pharmacies which are under threat and it has nothing to do with what you term “profit margins”. Even if it was, that means they are not making enough money and this government has just slapped them with an additional employment tax.
Boots or Superdrug will not open a branch in every small town or village in the country. That’s where the smaller concerns come in. They provide a vital service to the community and to add additional tax to the employment of their staff (which is effectively what employers’ NI is) makes no sense.
"BP test is the only thing thats been added. Take a look at what the chemist can do for you,"
Which you obviously didn’t:
https:/
"Most pharmacies can also offer prescription medicine for some conditions, without you needing to see a GP or make an appointment. This is called Pharmacy First.
Conditions they can offer prescription medicine for are:
• impetigo (aged 1 year and over)
• infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
• earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
• sore throat (aged 5 years and over)
• sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)
• urinary tract infections (UTIs) (women aged 16 to 64 years)
• shingles (aged 18 years and over)
Then there is ‘flu and Covid vaccinations (my GP will not give the latter).
“Thats because the cons wrecked the NHS.”
Would you care to explain how they did that? And please don’t say “they starved it of funds”. The NHS is awash with money and will consume any amount it Is given.
The biggest single action that damaged the NHS in recent years (leaving aside the Covid fiasco) is the contract the Blair administration granted GPs, which allowed them to do half the work for twice the pay.
Pharmacy's can give vaccinations. Our family have had the annual flu jab for years before we were entitled to free Nhs jabs. My husband was able to get anti-biotics a few months back admittedly when he couldn't get a Gp appointment ( He was admitted to intensive care a few days later). Pharmacists do a lot more thanjust advise about coughs and colds
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