Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network

The Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network works to support independent pharmacies working in community pharmacy in the UK and influence the pharmacy agenda.

[Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network @IPCNetwork]

@LFCblogster We always have a decoy 😂

[Cambrian Alliance Group @CamAllianceGrp]

Great news for @IPCNetwork members - Cambrian Alliance has been appointed their buying & business support group of choice!

Members can see how e-CASS can get you best prices, full transparency, and complete control ordering, below👇

https://t.co/ux9ghenPci

[Tom Fletcher @UNReliefChief]

The Gaza Famine is the world’s famine. A preventable, predictable famine. 

Enough. Ceasefire. Open all crossings, north and south. Let us get food in, unimpeded and at massive scale.

[Leyla Hannbeck @LeylaHannbeck]

Discussed in the media today the poor decision by JCVI to exclude patients aged 65-74 from NHS Covid jabs this winter. Seems no lessons have been learned from last year’s hospital admissions. Worried patients should ask their pharmacist about private jabs
https://t.co/oADyV7UGgn

[Chemist+Druggist @ChemistDruggist]

BREAKING: IPCN launches insurance at £3k less per year than ‘other providers’

https://t.co/eS680Miu85

The @IPCNetwork has launched a “tailored” #insurance offering with lower premiums for its members, C+D has learned…

[Waqas Ahmad MPHARM IPresc MRPharmS 🇵🇸 @ComPharmWaqas]

A big thank you to @anneliese_midge for visting and re-opening our pharmacy after an extension and refurb. She affirmed her commitment to community pharmacy which we are grateful to her for. @IPCNetwork @ComPharmEngland @ICPmagazine @ChemistDruggist

[Chemist+Druggist @ChemistDruggist]

Contractor WhatsApp group becomes ‘formal’ cooperative

https://t.co/3UfUkmWQSg

An independent contractor WhatsApp group @ipcnetwork has "formally incorporated" as a fledgling cooperative organisation to be a voice for independent contractors #Pharmacy

[Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network @IPCNetwork]

https://t.co/Lf3KP5qOFs for contact details and how to join. We look forward to welcoming you to our collective.

[Derviş Gürol MPharm PG Dip (Law) @dervisgurol]

Introducing @IPCNetwork a cooperative built by pharmacy contractors, for pharmacy contractors.

We are the Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network, a group of small, independent pharmacy owners, most of us single-branch owner-operators, who have come together with one simple goal:
To support each other.

We’re not a traditional organisation.
We’re not driven by titles or hierarchy.
We’re a support group rooted in real conversations, shared struggles, and practical solutions.

In a world where small independent pharmacies are often overlooked, IPCN provides a space where your voice matters.

We help each other grow, stay resilient, and build better businesses, not by competing, but by collaborating.

And now, we’ve formally incorporated as a cooperative, so that our values of honesty, community, and collective support are embedded into everything we do.

If you’re an independent contractor looking for your people, welcome. You’ve found them.

#IPCN #IndependentPharmacy #PharmacyOwners #StrongerTogether #CommunityPharmacy #PharmacySupport #OwnerOperators #PharmacyBusiness

[Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network @IPCNetwork]

@SriKanaparthy @dervisgurol @Michaelwsh @pharmabob Secretary of State can decide who to discuss the contract, it's not in statue that it must be CPE.

[Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network @IPCNetwork]

@JanetMorrisonUK @IPAPharmacy @NPA1921 @wesstreeting @SKinnock @istrachan621 @SriKanaparthy @ra2alghul @LeylaHannbeck @nkpharmacy @dervisgurol @ICPmagazine @ChemistDruggist @BBCBreaking @SkyNews @itvnews @Channel4News @PharminPractice @reeyah1 @REENABARAI @HarrysPharmacy1

[TasB @AbuFeizah]

PRESS RELEASE
31 March 2025
For Immediate Release

“This Is a Deal That Endorses Closures”: IPCN Condemns Government Funding Announcement and CPE Leadership

The Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network (IPCN) has reacted with deep frustration to today’s Government funding announcement, calling it a betrayal of community pharmacy contractors and a devastating failure of leadership by Community Pharmacy England (CPE).

While the Government has announced a £617 million uplift and £193 million debt write-off, the recently published Frontier Economics & IQVIA Economic Review confirms what every contractor already knows: this deal does not come close to addressing the crisis facing our sector.

The ER reveals a £2.3 billion annual funding gap.

97% to 100% of pharmacies are operating below full economic cost.

47% of pharmacies are already not profitable.

The so-called uplift represents a real-terms pay cut, when compared to inflation and the national minimum wage since 2019.

This is not a rescue package. It is a managed decline of NHS community pharmacy, and CPE has enabled it.

---

Contractors Are Angry – And Rightly So

Contractors were told CPE would negotiate based on evidence. Instead, they agreed a deal that ignores the ER, that fails to safeguard businesses, and that leaves contractors £680 million behind where we should be just to break even with 2019 figures adjusted for inflation and wages.

This is not just incompetence—it is a total abandonment of duty. CPE has not only failed to fight for our survival, but has effectively endorsed a deal that guarantees further closures, financial hardship, and erosion of services.

Contractors have every right to feel furious, betrayed, and unheard.

---

IPCN Demands Urgent and Immediate Reform

In light of this unacceptable outcome and breach of trust, IPCN makes the following demands:

The immediate resignation of the entire executive leadership team at Community Pharmacy England, including the CEO and Director of Pharmacy Funding.

A formal vote of no confidence in CPE from all NHS pharmacy contractors.

The derecognition of CPE as the negotiating body with the Secretary of State for Health.

The dissolution of CPE and its replacement with a new, independent, and democratically elected representative body, accountable to contractors—not political agendas.

IPCN will now mobilise over 2,000 NHS contract holders to begin the formal derecognition process, as outlined in statute.

In addition, IPCN will proceed with a legal challenge under fiduciary law, on the grounds that CPE has acted against the best interests of its members by agreeing to a funding settlement that directly results in closures, underfunding, and the loss of NHS frontline services.

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A Final Message to Contractors and the Public

This deal does not reflect the evidence.
It does not reflect the cost of delivering NHS care.
And it does not reflect the sacrifices contractors and staff have made over the past five years.

This is the moment where the sector must decide:
Will we continue to accept representation that negotiates our decline?
Or will we stand together, reject this failed leadership, and demand a new future for community pharmacy?

IPCN stands ready to lead that change.

---

Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://t.co/QcSrMSTk7Z

#IPCN #PharmacyFunding #EconomicReview #CPEFailure #FiduciaryDuty #CommunityPharmacy #ResignCPE #NHSPharmacy #IndependentPharmacy #StrongerTogether #RealRepresentation @IPCNetwork @__medicine__man @ChemistDruggist @ChemistDruggist @ComPharmWaqas @dervisgurol @DHSCgovuk @NPA1921 @IPAPharmacy @LeylaHannbeck @nkpharmacy @reeyah1 @ra2alghul @SriKanaparthy @

[Leyla Hannbeck @LeylaHannbeck]

The future of RPS must be about championing and strengthening the pharmacist profession and people leading it must be of that mindset. Anything outside of that would not only be a betrayal to the profession but to patient care.

[Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network @IPCNetwork]

For those who celebrate, may this Nowruz bring you and your loved ones health, happiness, and success.

[Derviş Gürol MPharm PG Dip (Law) @dervisgurol]

Community Pharmacy Funding: Falling Behind Inflation & Wage Increases

Since 2019, community pharmacy funding in England has been frozen at £2.592 billion per year. But what if funding had kept pace with inflation and the rising National Minimum Wage (NMW)?

The Reality:

If adjusted for both inflation and NMW increases, funding should have risen to £3.739 billion in 2025 and £3.9 billion for 2026.
Instead, pharmacies continue to deliver more services with less funding, all while facing rising wages, medicine costs, and operational expenses.

Why This Matters:
Community pharmacies are the backbone of primary care access, managing prescriptions, urgent care, vaccinations, and clinical services, often filling gaps left by overstretched GP practices.

Yet, with funding frozen for six years, pharmacies are being asked to do more for less. This is unsustainable and puts the future of vital services at risk.

The Call to Action:
It’s time for policymakers to recognise the economic reality and align pharmacy funding with real-world cost pressures. A sustainable funding model isn’t just about survival, it’s about ensuring patients continue to receive the care they deserve.

@ComPharmEngland @DHSCgovuk @IPCNetwork @Pharmacist_News @ICPmagazine

#CommunityPharmacy #PharmacyFunding #PrimaryCare #NHS #Healthcare #PharmacyCrisis

[Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network @IPCNetwork]

Abolition of NHSE - a view from Community Pharmacy

‘Since its creation in 2012, NHS England (NHSE) has presided over the systematic dismantling of community pharmacy…’

https://t.co/lPGA4f5701

[Leyla Hannbeck @LeylaHannbeck]

Good to speak on BBC Breakfast this morning about the ongoing medicines supply issues & the impact on patient care. Also well done to @istrachan621 for highlighting on the programme how pharmacists are struggling on a daily basis& how on many occasions they are left out of pocket

[Sukhy Uppal @SukhyUppal44]

@IPCNetwork @AbuFeizah @ComPharmEngland @NPA1921 @IPAPharmacy @grahamsphillips @ra2alghul @SriKanaparthy @DHSCgovuk @NHSEngland @ComPharmWaqas @istrachan621 @LeylaHannbeck @MikeHewitson1 @nkpharmacy @PaulReesMBE @REENABARAI @Aftab_Derby I also have over a decade of experience in Community Pharmacy and it has never been so bad. Instead of serving the public I am spending hours every day trying to source vital medication for patients. This is not sustainable and we are on the brink of collapse

[Rifat Asghar-Hussain @reeyah1]

This is serious. This is real.

#drugshortagesuk

[Derviş Gürol MPharm PG Dip (Law) @dervisgurol]

@AbuFeizah @IPCNetwork @ComPharmEngland @NPA1921 @IPAPharmacy @grahamsphillips @ra2alghul @SriKanaparthy @DHSCgovuk @NHSEngland @ComPharmWaqas @istrachan621 @LeylaHannbeck @MikeHewitson1 @nkpharmacy @PaulReesMBE @REENABARAI @Aftab_Derby @blmerriman @ChemistDruggist @cjarmstrong2 @_huz2 @PrabSC90 @reeyah1 @JanetMorrisonUK We now have to display a poster asking patients not to be abusive due to drug shortages. Unfortunately, some patients are getting worried & extremely aggressive thinking its our fault. More public information campaigns needed to educate patients that pharmacies aren’t responsible

[Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network @IPCNetwork]

https://t.co/jFGI8KYzTh

@AbuFeizah @ComPharmEngland @NPA1921 @IPAPharmacy @grahamsphillips @ra2alghul @SriKanaparthy @DHSCgovuk @NHSEngland @ComPharmWaqas @istrachan621 @LeylaHannbeck @MikeHewitson1 @nkpharmacy @PaulReesMBE @REENABARAI @Aftab_Derby

[🇵🇸 @kassimkurji]

@yourAAH You owe me £2600. Please return the money. @ComPharmEngland wholesalers are acting like cartels. They are not delivering, make us jump hoops to order items we dispense at a loss ultimately effecting patient care. Something needs to be done.