No new distance selling pharmacies applications will be approved

New legislation is set to stop any new distance selling pharmacies (DSPs) from opening amid concerns that there are already “more than sufficient” numbers.

First reported by C+D, DSPs “threaten [bricks-and-mortar] investment in the pharmacy network.” Community Pharmacy England (CPE) announced on June 2 that from June 23 no new DSP applications can be accepted. The negotiator told C+D that the regulatory change—which was laid in parliament on Monday—was agreed as part of the sector’s funding deal but has only just been announced.

CPE added that the decision was made “for a number of reasons,” noting that there are approximately 400 DSP pharmacies currently in operation. “This should be more than sufficient for England,” it stressed.

CPE explained that the legislative exemption that previously permitted DSPs to open regardless of local need “initially helped provide a wider choice for patients.” But “the situation has changed.” As many DSP pharmacies are now in place, additional DSP applications are beginning to undermine the integrity of market entry controls. In its view, new “local” DSP pharmacies can undermine the viability of nearby bricks-and-mortar pharmacies while also threatening investment in the pharmacy network and the face-to-face provision of essential pharmaceutical services.

Recent updates to the 2013 NHS Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services (PLPS) regulations have also brought other changes to pharmacy rules. CPE said that the legislation will see DSPs banned from delivering some services “face-to-face with patients onsite at the distance selling premises” from October 1. However, the administration of COVID-19 and flu vaccinations on the DSP premises continues to be permitted until March 31 next year.

The legislation will also make it easier for contractors “to apply to change the dates and times of their core opening hours” from June 23. In addition, the new regulations introduce two further changes. The first allows pharmacies access to “the central supply of flu vaccinations for children,” CPE noted, explaining that central supply enables community pharmacies to play a vital role in future public health vaccination programmes according to local patient needs. The final change enables the automatic cancellation and refund of a pre-payment certificate to a person who becomes entitled to a maternity or medical exemption certificate.

These changes come despite concerns raised by DSPs. In April, the Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network (IPCN) submitted a complaint to the competition watchdog regarding a suspected anti-competitive agreement between the Department of Health and Social Care and CPE in the 2025/26 funding deal. IPCN contended that this agreement “will prohibit DSPs from providing enhanced and advanced NHS services onsite from October 2025” and “removes their ability to compete on equal terms despite holding identical NHS contracts to community pharmacies.” At the time, the government said that it had “not been officially notified of any complaints.”

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