Young Female Purchaser Choosing Product at Pharmacy (Image: Getty Images)
One in eight people – or seven million in – have seen their local pharmacy close its doors for good, analysis suggests.
Sector leaders are warning that patients risk being left without access to vital medication and care, particularly in rural areas.
The National Pharmacy Association, which represents independent community pharmacies, said data showed around 1,250 pharmacies had shut since 2017. Each serves an average of 5,600 people, meaning up to seven million patients have lost their closest store.
The majority of closures have come in the last three years and the NPA said pressure will only grow more severe without action to reverse budget cuts.
NPA chair Nick Kaye said: “These are shocking figures which show that millions of patients have lost access to pharmacies who provide vital medication and care on their doorsteps.
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“It is particularly concerning to see rural areas continuing to lose pharmacy time, which will force vulnerable isolated patients to travel further for the care they need.”
The NPA analysis also estimated that around seven million hours of pharmacy time had been lost due to closures and reduced opening hours over the last two years.
Pharmacies in England were open for 551,000 hours a week in 2024, down from 620,000 at the same time in 2022.
Cambridgeshire, Wiltshire, Kent and were particularly impacted. Kent saw 109,000 hours of pharmacy time lost in the last two years, Wiltshire lost 41,000 hours, Cambridgeshire 46,000 and Devon 49,000 hours.
The Government entered into consultation with Community Pharmacy England last week regarding contracts for 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said chemists were “at the heart of local healthcare, and they have a vital role to play as we shift from hospital to community, giving patients better access to care, closer to home, through our 10 Year Health Plan”.
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He added: “We have inherited a sector that is suffering from years of underfunding and neglect, but we recognise the hard work pharmacists undertake every day to deliver for patients.
“I am committed to working closely with Community Pharmacy England to agree a package of funding that is reflective of the important support that they provide to patients up and down the country.
“I am confident that together we can get the sector back on its feet and fit for pharmacies and patients long into the future.”
Mr Kaye added: “When pharmacies close, it means people have to travel further for care and the pharmacies that remain have to work harder to meet demand.
“When they are forced to cut hours to make ends meet it means people don’t have such flexibility to get advice or pick up medicines.
“We’re relieved to hear that talks have finally begun for the long overdue pharmacy settlement but unless urgent and sustained increases in pharmacy funding are delivered imminently, this situation will only worsen and patients will face more and more difficulties getting the care they need and pharmacies will have no choice but to cut their services further to make ends meet.”