Pharmacy owners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have voted for the first time to reduce opening hours and stop home deliveries, in protest against the government funding.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which organized the poll, is calling for an annual funding increase of £1.7 billion to plug the “financial hole”.

The NPA represents 6,500 community pharmacies across the UK, around half of them. It says 99% of those who responded to the vote said they were willing to limit their services unless funding was improved.

England’s Department of Health says it wants all pharmacists to work with it to create a service fit for the future.

Some 3,339 independent community pharmacies across England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in the unprecedented vote, representing a turnout of 64%.

The vote comes after the budget saw increases in national insurance contributions and the National Living Wage.

The government has not committed to helping pharmacies cover these costs, the NPA claims, unlike other parts of the NHS.

The pharmacies body, which is not a union, says 700 pharmacies have closed in England in the last two years alone – the equivalent of seven a week – due to workload and budget cuts.

It adds that core public funding for pharmacies in England has fallen by 40% since 2015-16, after adjusting for inflation.

The NPA says it will have no choice but to recommend that pharmacies withdraw their services in the new year if funding is not increased.

Pharmacy owner and NPA member Ashely Cohen told BBC Breakfast that 90% of pharmacy funding was “static” – decided by a contract with the government to supply the NHS.

“We are not able to raise our prices like traditional businesses,” he said, while other costs related to staff and rents have increased.

He said: “My job is to help and support patients, and that’s why we had to go ahead with this vote.”

What could change?

Pharmacies could decide:

“Something has to give”

NPA President Nick Kaye said the poll result “overwhelmingly demonstrates the anger and frustration of pharmacy owners over a decade of budget cuts that are forcing dedicated healthcare professionals to close their doors for good “.

He said he cares deeply about his patients – like other pharmacy teams – but has never experienced a situation as desperate as this.

“Pharmacy owners are not a radical group. We’ve never proposed action like this before, but after a decade of underfunding and record closures, something simply has to give,” Kaye said .

The Pharmacy First service, launched in January in England, has expanded the range of services pharmacists can provide, including treating sinusitis, earaches and shingles.

Members are not being asked to opt out of the scheme, the NPA said, but a reduction in opening hours and stopping locally commissioned services would have consequences.

The NPA says urgent funding negotiations with the government are needed to ensure patient safety and services for vulnerable people.

Funding for pharmacies is set by the devolved governments, but the arrangements for funding medicines – known as medicine tariffs – are decided by Westminster for pharmacies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Scottish pharmacies have a separate system and are not involved in the current ballot.

Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Pharmacies, said: “The community pharmacy sector is in a growing crisis with a funding gap of £1.7 billion. £12,000 extra fees per year for our members.

“As healthcare professionals, we believe that patients should not suffer from the withdrawal of valuable and vital professional services from our members.

“The government must urgently increase funding for pharmacies to prevent further closures of community pharmacies.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Community pharmacy has a vital role to play as we shift the focus of care from hospital to the community as part of fundamental reforms to our ten-year health plan.

“Unfortunately, we inherited a system that has been neglected for too long and no longer supports the pharmacists we need to care for patients locally.”