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The National Pharmacy Association chair Olivier Picard wrote to the health minister Stephen Kinnock on Monday to warn him pharmacies’ NHS dispensing payment schedules must be aligned with their wholesalers’ bills to stop pharmacists having to dip into their own pockets to “bridge the payment gap”.

Picard (pictured) called on Labour to immediately review the payment schedule to alleviate the pressure on pharmacy owners who are operating to the backdrop of inadequate funding and increasing costs.

He told Kinnock that on Tuesday, one “major wholesaler” announced it had brought forward its direct debit payment collection date from January, “putting further pressure” on already strained pharmacies and forcing NPA members including him to resort to desperate measures, such as taking out personal loans, cashing in on pensions early, borrowing from family and not taking a salary.

Insisting community pharmacy’s £2.6 billion funding gap, which was highlighted by an NHS England-commissioned independent economic analysis, was “having a detrimental impact on the ability of pharmacies to purchase medicines”, Picard said: “Pharmacies often have to pay their wholesalers before they are fully reimbursed by the NHS. Many wholesalers have a 30-day payment requirement.”

Picard added: “We (resort to desperate measures) because we always put our patients first and we do not want patients to go without their vital medicines. However, this situation is unsustainable and unacceptable.”

Independent Community Pharmacist has contacted the Healthcare Distribution Association, who represent pharmaceutical wholesalers, for a response.