England could soon have fewer than 10,000 pharmacies as we are now losing seven every week – a rate that could soon put us back to a level not seen since 2005. There are currently 10,054 pharmacies in England, according to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).
It claims seven pharmacies a week have closed in 2024 so far, with more than 1,500 shutting down since 2015 due to cuts in pharmacy budgets and the increased cost of medicine. The analysis found that if these trends continue, pharmacy numbers could fall below 10,000 for the first time since 2005, when there were 9,872 pharmacies in England.
NPA chief executive Paul Rees said: “2005 saw the launch of YouTube, McFly making number one in the charts, and George W Bush inaugurated for his second term as US president. Now is not the time to allow a vital part of NHS local services to decline to levels not seen since the dawn of social media.”
(Image: Getty)
He added: “This is a vital opportunity to halt the closures and invest in community pharmacies, which provide prescriptions, clinical services and health support to neighbourhoods up and down the country. Preventing the ongoing collapse of community pharmacy will help to cut waiting times for GPs, provide better immediate care for patients and keep the front door to the NHS open.”
A shocking 63% of UK pharmacies have slashed their services in the past nine years, reveals the NPA. Only 2.5% bothered to extend theirs during the same period, reports Gloucestershire Live.
Flashback to 2015, and you’d see the average chemist open for a healthy 54.2 hours each week. Fast forward to today, and it’s dwindled to just 48.1.
(Image: Getty)
A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said: “This Government inherited a broken NHS and pharmacies have been neglected for years. We are monitoring closures closely. Pharmacies are key to our plans to make healthcare fit for the future, as we shift the focus of the NHS out of hospitals and into the community.”
“We will expand the role of pharmacies making better use of pharmacists’ skills, including accelerating the rollout of independent prescribing.”