MAPPED: England’s pharmacy ‘deserts’ – do you reside in a single?

Striking new data has revealed the alarming number of areas across England that are at risk of becoming ‘pharmacy deserts’ — where chemists are in worryingly short supply. 

West Berkshire, near Reading, has the worst pharmacy provision in the country with just 10 pharmacies per 100,0000 people, according to The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) report.

Meanwhile, on areas like North East Lincolnshire and Westminster have about nearly four times as many pharmacies, with some 40 per 100,000 head of population.

Analysis showed 17 of the 20 council areas with the lowest number of pharmacies were in rural locations. 

Campaigners say widespread pharmacy closures in rural towns and villages will force people to travel further for medication — and have urged the Government to reverse budget cuts.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said pharmacy closures in rural towns and villages across the nation will mean people having to travel further for medication and has urged the Government to reverse budget cuts

Wokingham, also near Reading, had very few pharmacy provisions — just shy of 12 pharmacies per 100,000 people, followed by Central Bedfordshire near Luton with 12.6 pharmacies per 100,000 population. 

More deprived council areas also had the highest level of closures in the last two years, the organisation found.

Plymouth, for example, recorded the highest rate of pharmacy closures analysed, losing 3.1 pharmacies per 100,000 this financial year, compared to two years prior.

This took the area to just 17 pharmacies per 100,000 people. 

NPA chief executive Paul Rees said: ‘These shocking statistics show how a growing number of areas are at risk of becoming pharmacy deserts, with people in rural towns and villages having to travel longer and longer distances to get hold of the medication they need.

‘Many pharmacies are on the brink because of a decade of real term cuts, creating a material threat to the security of medicine supply in some areas if closures continue.

‘It is also deeply concerning to see higher levels of pharmacy closures in deprived council areas, which has undermined government efforts to tackle health inequalities after the pandemic.’

The NPA analysis also found one or more pharmacies have closed in 87 per cent of council areas in England in the last two years.

The organisation has urged the Government to reverse what it describes as a 40 per cent real-terms cut to the pharmacy budget in the last decade.

Mr Rees added: ‘The Government needs to act now to stabilise the pharmacy network and lay out a routemap for a properly funded future or they will put the supply of medicine to some areas at risk.

‘Ministers must provide pharmacies with a new deal to fix the current broken contract now. This will halt the closures and allow pharmacies to deliver first class accessible healthcare on people’s doorsteps.’

Responding to the report, the Local Government Association (LGA), a membership body for local authorities in England said the importance of local pharmacies couldn’t be underestimated.  

Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said:  ‘Councils want every local area to have a strong community pharmacy network, particularly those in deprived areas with the greatest health needs, or rural communities with the furthest distance to travel.

‘People rely on their local pharmacy not just as a place to get medicines, but as somewhere they can go to for informal health advice and information. 

‘If this lifeline was removed, it would mean more people having to potentially travel longer distances to GP surgeries and adding to existing pressures.’