Here’s wishing for a Happy 2025!
NPA - National Pharmacy Association
The National Pharmacy Association. The UK's leading trade body for independent community pharmacy.
As the sun rose for the first time in 2025 I couldn’t help making a New Year wish for better and calmer times ahead. Pharmacy never gets any easier, wherever in these islands you are.
Thank you for everything you do for your community, whether over the festive period or all through the year.
At the NPA we’ve achieved a huge amount and put pharmacy on the map like never before. But we can’t stop there.
In England, I’m wishing for an early funding settlement that starts to end the financial pain we’ve all been suffering for years. I’m hoping we can stop talking about closures and start talking in earnest about building a brighter, more sustainable future for us all and making the dream of pharmacy at the heart of community health care a reality.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, I’m wishing for reform of the drugs tariff that afflicts us in England too, and progress on the great work colleagues have done.
In Scotland, I’m wishing for a sustainable future in which the many reforms to the pharmacy service can work to their full.
My New Year’s resolution for the NPA is that we’ll never stop fighting for our members, and never stop until all parts of these islands get a good deal and a route to a better future.
If you missed it, my board colleague Ashley Cohen was on BBC Breakfast over Christmas making a powerful case for funding reform in England.
And the I Paper carried a big piece highlighting our concerns about pharmacy closures in isolated areas.
The team is already on it and will come back to you with recommendations for action later this month in England, Wales and Northern Ireland if we don’t see progress on funding.
Team NPA will also never stop improving what we do for you – we’re upgrading our digital services, we’ve got great events in the pipeline and a whole programme about building a better, more financial sustainable business, whether for individual pharmacies or multiples.
We’re here for you, always.
I hope you and your teams managed to get a bit of time to see family and friends, enjoy good food and a bit of peace.
Best wishes,
Nick Kaye
Open to new opportunities
2wPay rates for pharmacists are barely increased since the mid '90's. Nearly a halved real-term income for pharmacies. What exactly have you done?
experienced pharmacist looking to develop further
3wSorry you havenot achieved a new contract, platitudes from various government ministers but no financial gain, PR on media which has not materialised to financial benefit - so exactly what have u achieved apart from raising the funding issue?