COMMUNITY pharmacists in Scotland have rejected Government funding proposals for 2024/25, with UK trade paper Chemist Druggist citing representative body Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) as saying the offer fell so far short of what is needed that the organisation "had no choice but to reject it in full".
An interim additional cash injection of 20m (A$38m) is being provided over the remainder of 2023/24 to "ease pressures related to medicines price increases" but CPS said this was insufficient and only comprised just over 1.7% of total pharmacy spend in Scotland.
1,200 pharmacies are represented by the organisation, which says many of its members are facing "serious financial trouble" as cost pressures increase.
Negotiations between Scottish pharmacists and the Government have been ongoing since Sep last year, with the pharmacy owners' body warning that the funding package that may be imposed is "not enough to keep our world-leading services running as they have been".
The cost of living crisis in the UK continues to impact the entire economy, with CPS noting it is significantly hampering the ability of Scotland's pharmacists to provide "comprehensive services" to the public.
Negotiations are ongoing with hope of a settlement soon.
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