'Our family-owned pharmacy is barely surviving'

The owner of a pharmacy that has been in his family for 40 years is concerned the business may have to close due to rising medication costs and a lack of NHS funding.

Gurminder Singh, 35, inherited Singh Pharmacy in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, from his father, 63-year-old Shamser Singh.

But Gurminder says the pharmacy is now losing thousands of pounds a month, and is "barely surviving" due to "significant losses" on some of the NHS medicines it supplies to patients.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) says it inherited a system that has been "neglected" for too long, and will work to build a service "fit for the future".

Shamser Singh had served patients since the pharmacy opened back in 1984.

Qualified pharmacist Gurminder took over three years ago, and a second branch opened in the Lady Bay area in 2022.

Gurminder said: "My whole reason for choosing pharmacy as a career was because of this family legacy.

"We're a part of the community here."

Gurminder says running the family business is "completely different" to when his father was in charge - as the business is now "crippled" by the price of certain medications that are not always covered by the NHS.

Gurminder says his pharmacy is losing thousands of pounds per month, and over the past six months, he has spent about £20,000 of his own money on meeting the businesses' overheads.

"If nothing changes, we can only continue to operate for the next three to six months," he added.

"A lot of our customers are older, and as their living costs are increasing, we didn't want to make things harder for them," he adds.

"There aren't enough hours in the day to oversee the business and do the private services that help to keep us afloat.

"Honestly... [the pharmacy] is barely surviving. It is disheartening for me and my parents."

Community Pharmacy England said the sector had seen a 30% funding cut, and that 60% of local pharmacy leaders expected to see more permanent closures of local pharmacies this winter.

Chief executive Janet Morrison added: "If [pharmacies] are left to collapse, the impact on businesses and their staff, on patients, on the wider NHS, and ultimately on the nation's health, will be unthinkable."

For every medicine, pharmacies will be reimbursed at a price agreed under the NHS contract. They can earn profit if they buy the drugs at a price lower than the price the NHS gives them.

One drug Singh Pharmacy is making losses on is memantine, a tablet that is used to treat memory loss and is often prescribed to those showing signs of dementia.

It costs the pharmacy £12 to buy, but the price set by the NHS is about £7.99, says Gurminder, meaning the pharmacy makes a loss of about £4 on each packet they sell.

Gurminder said: "Patient care is a priority for us, and so we have no choice but to sell this medication at a loss.

"We only get a £1 dispensing fee each time we sell that, and that's supposed to go towards staff wages and running costs."

Joy Edwards, a dispenser at Singh Pharmacy for four years, told the BBC her main concern is how a potential closure will impact elderly patients.

"There are a lot of elderly people in this area, and if we close, what happens to them?

"We don't know what the future holds, but know that pharmacies need more funding to make sure they can keep going," she said.

Serine Hamada, 27, a trainee pharmacist at the pharmacy, added: "Graduating into a time where the future of pharmacies is uncertain is scary.

"You see lots of pharmacies shutting, but us graduates want to get out and work.

"I am nervous about the future."

The BBC has approached NHS England for comment.

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