The Government has stepped in and given community pharmacies a £300 million cash boost to ensure that they can continue to deliver vital services during the coronavirus crisis.
The cash injection will support pharmacies across Derby and Derbyshire and will help them to provide critical to protecting public health.
£200 million was paid on 1 April to pharmacy contractors, alongside their normal monthly payments from the NHS Business Services Authority, and a further £100 million will be allocated on 1 May 2020.
The move has come as the coronavirus outbreak has put unprecedented strain on the NHS and community pharmacies.
In response the Government has implemented measures to help support the NHS. Yesterday, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced that £13.4 billion pounds of NHS debt will be written-off.
Field hospitals are also being set up across England to alleviate pressure on existing hospitals, and the Government has pledged to conduct 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April.
The moves have been backed by Amanda Solloway, the Member of Parliament for Derby North:
“Even in normal times we owe a lot to our community pharmacies as they carry out some of the most important work in keeping us all healthy and support the doctors and nurses in the NHS.
Now, though, their work is more important than ever as we all work to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The additional funding from the Government - and the extra measures being introduced to help the NHS – will allow both pharmacies and the NHS to provide the best service their known for.
We all now need to play our part to, and stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives.”