Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland (CPNI) has warned MLAs that the security of medicine supply for patients cannot be guaranteed unless urgent action is taken to stabilise pharmacy funding.
Speaking before the Assembly Health Committee on 26 February 2026, CPNI representatives provided an update on worsening medicine supply pressures, having earlier this month raised concerns about shortages and potential rationing of commonly used painkillers and blood thinning medicines.
Chief Executive Gerard Greene told Committee members that the current situation is the result of both global medicine shortages and long standing structural funding problems in Northern Ireland.
“Medicine supply difficulties are presenting disproportionate challenges for community pharmacies and patients in Northern Ireland, compared to other parts of the UK,” Mr Greene said. “We met with the Health Minister over a month ago to raise the alarm on this situation, and to date, the actions recommended by CPNI have not been accepted.”
Mr Greene revealed that 367 of 414 pharmacies supplied by a major wholesaler were unable to pay their January bill, placing ongoing medicine supply at risk. He said contractors are increasingly using personal funds to bridge a widening gap between reimbursement and rising drug costs.
“For years, we have been highlighting that the Department’s baseline funding level for community pharmacy is wrong,” he continued. “The current medicine supply issue has exposed further cracks in a dangerously fragile model. Significant disruption to medicine supply is now inevitable if the Department fails to act.”
CPNI is calling for urgent negotiations on a new community pharmacy contract. As an immediate measure, it is asking the Minister to suspend the clawback mechanism applied to drug payments.
“We are not looking for more money,” Mr Greene stressed. “We are asking for funding already in the system to be left there so pharmacies can pay their monthly wholesaler bills.”
He also warned that several wholesalers have stopped supplying Northern Ireland pharmacies or exited the market entirely due to payment and tariff pressures, reducing competition and driving prices higher than elsewhere in the UK.
“The reality is pharmacies are scrambling to secure medicines for patients. It is unsafe, unsustainable and deeply concerning,” Mr Greene said. “The Minister must step in urgently to stabilise funding, secure medicine supplies and work with UK Government to prioritise stocks for Northern Ireland patients.”
The Committee was told that without intervention, the pressures on community pharmacy will continue to escalate, with direct consequences for patient access to essential medicines.