Pharmacies across England are struggling to serve patients due to severe financial losses and medicine shortages, meaning patients face waits of several weeks to receive critical medication.
People seeking medical advice from community pharmacists are also waiting longer as staff spend hours trying to hunt down prescription drugs.
A Community Pharmacy England survey of 2,900 pharmacies and 900 team members, found 76 per cent of pharmacies report that patients are being impacted by the pressures facing their pharmacy business.
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Caption: People enjoying the warm weather in Queen Square, Bristol. The heatwave across the UK looks set to continue as 2026 became the first year to record temperatures of 35C on six separate days. Picture date: Sunday July 12, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire
Photographer: Ben Birchall
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Copyright: PA Wire
weather
Heatwave to intensify – where will it be the hottest?
Temperatures will rise again this week, as the third heatwave of the year intensifies.
Yellow heat health alerts have been issued for most of the country from tomorrow morning until 9pm on Friday.
Temperatures rising again
Caption: A person sits in the shade in Castle Park, Bristol. The heatwave across the UK looks set to continue as 2026 became the first year to record temperatures of 35C on six separate days, and emergency services warn of “extreme” wildfire risks over the weekend. Picture date: Saturday July 11, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire
Photographer: Ben Birchall
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Copyright: PA Wire
- Many southern and western parts are expected to reach 30°C again this week.
- UV levels are expected to be high or very high across many parts of the UK throughout the week, according to the Met Office.
NEWS
3 min read
Where and when it will be hottest
Wednesday is expected to be the hottest day of the week, with temperatures forecast to peak at 30°C. This high is expected to be seen in and around Hereford, Worcester, Monmouth, Bristol, Stratford Upon Avon, Gloucester and Reading.
Caption: HUNSTANTON, ENGLAND – JULY 9: Cyclists push their bikes along the promenade in the early morning sun during a heatwave on July 9, 2029 in Hunstanton, England. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued yellow heat health alerts for the Midlands, East Anglia, London, and the south-east and south-west regions of England in effect through July 11, as temperatures are forecast to build into heatwave conditions. For some regions affected, the hot spell could mark the third official heatwave of the season, following record-breaking temperatures in May and June. (Photo by Martin Pope/Getty Images)
Photographer: Martin Pope
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Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2026 Martin Pope
Most of the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will hit temperatures in the mid- to high-20s as well.
How exercise and diet ‘boosts memory in those with dementia risk’
A study found cognition, memory and executive function were all improved by a structured programme of exercise and brain-healthy food.
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 2: Pensioners exercise during a fitness class for older people November 2, 2004 in London. The class is part of the government’s National Service Framework for Older People scheme which promotes independence and well-being for older people. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
Photographer: Ian Waldie
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Copyright: 2004 Getty Images
How the study worked
- Participants were deemed to be at risk of developing dementia due to age or factors such as high blood pressure.
- Half completed a two-year programme of exercise sessions four days a week alongside personalised dietary advice.
- Activities were tailored to local culture and included salsa dancing.
- Diets were affordable and easy to source locally.
LIFESTYLE
5 min read
The story in numbers
1,000 patients
The two-year study included more than 1,000 patients aged 60 to 77 across 11 Latin American countries.
It concluded the exercise, diet and socialising plan followed by half the group generally left them with better memory.
1.4 million
Currently, around 1 million people in the UK have dementia.
Alzheimer’s Society estimates this number will grow to 1.4 million by 2040.
What does this mean?
Researchers said that the findings, published in The Lancet, suggest that “harmonised, non-pharmacological interventions can be implemented across diverse sociocultural settings”.
They added the programme had produced “measurable cognitive benefits in older adults”.
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 10: Sian Welby takes part in an art class during her visit to Wandsworth Common Care Home ahead of Care Home Open Week on June 10, 2025 in London, England. The radio DJ regularly campaigns for dementia awareness, having shared her own experiences following her father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
Photographer: Tristan Fewings
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Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2025 Getty Images
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
SCIENCE
Are women really better at multitasking?
Caption: MAJADAHONDA, MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 11. Virginia Bejar, the photographer’s partner, strives to work at home while holding her six-month-old daughter Olivia, also the photographer’s daughter, during the Covid-19 lockdown on May 11, 2020, in Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain. Some parts of Spain have entered “Phase One” of transition from the coronavirus lockdown, allowing many shops to reopen as well as restaurants who serve customers outdoors. Locations that were harder hit by coronavirus (COVID-19), such as Madrid and Barcelona, remain in a stricter “Phase 0” quarantine. Across the country workers who can do their jobs from home like Bejar are obliged to do so. In fact,??? most business offices still remain closed. (Photo by Miguel Pereira/Getty Images)
Photographer: Miguel Pereira
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Source: Getty Images Europe
A new study has defied the stereotype, finding women and men have the same multitasking abilities.
But it also found that men are worse at answering questions while doing other tasks under pressure.
What does the study tell us?
- The study challenged men and women to a series of tests they had to juggle for 10 minutes.
- There were no gender differences in the ability to balance these tasks and accomplish them.
- But it found that men were more than twice as likely to fall silent as women – failing to respond to 28 per cent of questions versus just 12 per cent for women.
- Another group were asked to observe this footage. They reported the men looked more miserable and less able to concentrate.
- This indicates men merely give the appearance they cannot multitask.
Who did the study and why?
The study, published in Psychological Research, was conducted by husband and wife André Szameitat and Diana Szameitat.
Their experience raising two children inspired the research and format of the 10-minute multitasking test.
Caption: Berlin, Germany – March 23: In this Photo Illustration about workload a man sitting at a desk exhausted on March 23, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
Photographer: Thomas Trutschel
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Source: Photothek
Big Read
7 min read
The key takeaway
Reduced talkativeness in the workplace may be perceived as impolite or even rude…Future research should examine whether training might help maintain verbal abilities under pressure.
Dr André Szameitat, co-author of the study
Caption: 1960s FRUSTRATED YOUNG REDHEADED WOMAN TRYING TO ANSWER HANDLE FIVE TELEPHONE RECEIVERS STUDIO (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images)
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Source: Archive Photos
Caption: Arms shoving a small piece of luggage to the top shelf of an aircraft
Photographer: yacobchuk
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Source: iStockphoto
TRAVEL
Everything we know about new hand luggage rules
Under new rules from the European Parliament, airline passengers will have better rights to compensation, seating fees and – crucially – cabin baggage allowances.
What you need to know
- The new rules include the right to carry on board one cabin bag up to 40x30x15cm, without an additional fee.
- Airlines like Ryanair, EasyJet and Wizz Air will no longer be allowed to charge passengers extra for this.
- The cabin bag is in addition to the small personal item already allowed for free.
- The new rules will come into force in 2027.
TRAVEL
4 min read
How does this affect UK travellers?
Flights to the EU from the UK will not technically have to comply with these rules.
But, according to Which?, the reality is that airlines will apply the same rules both ways as the alterative would be “impractical”.
It is also understood that Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is considering implementing the same rules here, too.
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
NEWS
3 min read
Meanwhile, 83 per cent of pharmacies are unable to respond to patients’ phone calls and emails as promptly as usual due to the pressures they are facing, and staff in nearly two in five pharmacies (39 per cent) are unable to spend as much time supporting and advising patients as they would like.
Fin McCaul, owner of Prestwich Pharmacy in Greater Manchester, said the rising cost of medicines has also put pharmacies under pressure, with the prices of some individual drugs resulting in losses of £50 a month.
McCaul said: “The concession price for aspirin was £2.36 this month, but most of the month I’ve been buying it at £2.90. It may not seem a lot, a loss of 50p per pack, but actually when you’re [dispensing] 100 packs a month and 200 packs a month, that soon grows.”
Record numbers of price concessions, temporary adjustments to the amount pharmacies are reimbursed by the Government for medicines, have been granted month after month this year.
McCaul said his staff are spending “hours every day trying to source medicines”. And they are not the only ones.
Data from the survey shows 72 per cent of pharmacy team members said patients are affected by medicine shortages every day. There are various reasons for medicine supply issues, including shortages of raw ingredients, but pharmaceutical experts say the war in Iran has also exacerbated the issue.
McCaul, who has been a pharmacist for around 40 years, said he has “never seen it as bad as this”.
Patients are waiting days – or even weeks – for their prescriptions to be fulfilled. “The anxiety that the patient goes through and the frustrations that the patient has where they’re turning up every day to go, ‘have the tablets arrived yet?’ It’s not good for patient care.”
Pharmacists are spending hours trying to source patient medicines due to shortages (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty)
A number of cardiovascular medications are in short supply, including Ramipril, which patients with high blood pressure and heart failure need to take daily.
Epilepsy patients have also experienced challenges getting the medication they need to manage seizures. Charlotte Nero, 39, from London, has been having difficulty getting hold of her life-saving epilepsy medication for weeks.
“There’s times when I’ve had to go to multiple different pharmacies to try and get the Keppra brand because if I take the generic version – which is levetiracetam, which is the main ingredient – the side effects are very different,” she said.
“I ran out of the Keppra brand the other day and I had to get the levetiracetam and the following day I spent half the day lying down because my head was thumping, I felt sick, I had really horrid headaches and then when I was able to then start using the Keppra, a lot of the side effects went away.”
Nero, a stay-at-home mother of two, said not being able to get her prescription for epilepsy medication fulfilled means she has to call on her mum to help out with childcare.
At times, she has had to ration her medication, taking a single dose instead of taking a tablet in the morning and night or even splitting a tablet in two.
Without adequate supply of her medication, Nero fears she could have an absent or tonic-clonic seizure and end up in hospital.
“You have a build-up of anxiety and stress,” she said. “A lot of seizures can be triggered by stress, lack of sleep, anxiety, and so when [those] feelings are heightened, that alone can be known to trigger seizures.”
Clare Pelham, Epilepsy Society CEO, said: “We understand how worrying it can be for patients to run low on essential medication. Epilepsy is a cliff-edge condition which means that missing even a single dose can have life-threatening consequences.
“Many people with epilepsy are also either brand dependent or need to take the same generic medication to manage their seizures. So, while it has been suggested that people can swap out their medication if there is a shortage, this isn’t an option for many people with epilepsy.
“We are calling on the Government to ensure their essential medicine supply chains are robust and water-tight so that no one is left vulnerable to global events.”
Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said the survey results show “pharmacies are not sustainable, and that the pressures on them are directly affecting patient access to medicines and care”.
She added: “It is very troubling that pharmacies are having to reduce opening hours and introduce new charges for things that have previously been free to patients – and this goes directly against Government’s ambitions to shift more healthcare, closer to home.”