Some pharmacies not required to open on the forthcoming bank holiday

Some of England’s pharmacies won’t be required to open on the next bank holiday – falling on May 25, 2020 – following NHS England and Improvement’s announcement. The duo thanked pharmacies for working tirelessly over the previous bank holidays, during the COVID-19 crisis. They stated that it wouldn’t be opening all pharmacies in England on the forthcoming bank holiday. Despite this, the pair will work locally to ensure communities have sufficient access to pharmaceutical services during the bank holiday.

Gordon Hockey, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee’s (PSNC) Director of Operations and Support, stated: “PSNC has been clear from the outset that the local arrangements in place for bank holidays during the pandemic would have been sufficient to meet patient needs. While we are pleased that NHS England and Improvement has now recognised there is no need to impose bank holiday openings on pharmacies, we are disappointed that the announcement has been made with less than a week to go.”