UK pharmacy crisis as 1 in 8 see their local chemist shut down 

One successful 8 radical - oregon 7 cardinal successful England - person seen their section pharmacy adjacent its doors for good, investigation suggests.

Sector leaders are informing Labour that patients hazard being near without entree to captious medicine and care, peculiarly successful agrarian areas.

The National Pharmacy Association, which represents autarkic assemblage pharmacies, said NHS information showed astir 1,250 pharmacies had unopen since 2017. Each serves an mean of 5,600 people, meaning up to 7 cardinal patients person mislaid their closest store.

The bulk of closures person travel successful the past 3 years and the NPA said unit volition lone turn much terrible without enactment to reverse fund cuts.

NPA seat Nick Kaye said: “These are shocking figures which amusement that millions of patients person mislaid entree to pharmacies who supply captious medicine and attraction connected their doorsteps. 

“It is peculiarly concerning to spot agrarian areas continuing to lose pharmacy time, which volition unit susceptible isolated patients to question further for the attraction they need.”

The NPA investigation besides estimated that astir 7 cardinal hours of pharmacy clip had been mislaid owed to closures and reduced opening hours implicit the past 2 years.

Pharmacies in England were unfastened for 551,000 hours a week successful 2024, down from 620,000 astatine the aforesaid time in 2022.

Cambridgeshire, Wiltshire, Kent and Devon were peculiarly impacted. Kent saw 109,000 hours of pharmacy time mislaid successful the past 2 years, Wiltshire mislaid 41,000 hours, Cambridgeshire 46,000 and Devon 49,000 hours.

The Government entered into consultation with Community Pharmacy England past week regarding contracts for 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said chemists were “at the bosom of section healthcare, and they person a captious relation to play arsenic we displacement from infirmary to community, giving patients amended entree to care, person to home, done our 10 Year Health Plan”.

He added: “We person inherited a assemblage that is suffering from years of underfunding and neglect, but we recognise the hard enactment pharmacists undertake each time to present for patients.

“I americium committed to moving intimately with Community Pharmacy England to hold a bundle of backing that is reflective of the important enactment that they supply to patients up and down the country. 

“I americium assured that unneurotic we tin get the assemblage backmost connected its feet and acceptable for pharmacies and patients agelong into the future.”

Mr Kaye added: "When pharmacies close, it means radical person to question further for attraction and the pharmacies that stay person to enactment harder to conscionable demand. 

“When they are forced to chopped hours to marque ends conscionable it means radical don’t person specified flexibility to get proposal oregon prime up medicines.

“We’re relieved to perceive that talks person yet begun for the agelong overdue pharmacy settlement but unless urgent and sustained increases in pharmacy funding are delivered imminently, this concern volition lone worsen and patients volition look much and much difficulties getting the attraction they request and pharmacies will person nary prime but to chopped their services further to marque ends meet.”