Pharmacy Pressure Builds With More Closures Across England

Data crunched by online pharmacy delivery partner Gophr,  paints a concerning picture for the pharmacy sector in England, with pharmacy numbers continuing to decrease. The research comes as the country has seen demonstrations by #saveourpharmacy outside the nation’s pharmacies.

With its ‘Prescription For Pressure’ initiative in its second year, Gophr has lifted the lid on the increasing pressures faced by the industry, with a significant amount of the population now living in ‘pharmacy deserts’ - a term that refers to a growing number of people in an urban area trying to access a diminishing pool of pharmacies. In addition, the ‘Pharmacy First’ initiative (allowing patients to be referred to a community pharmacy for a minor illness or an urgent repeat medicine supply) has created an even greater workload for already overstretched pharmacists, while supermarket pharmacy closures have also added to the strain.

Gophr’s data experts found: 

• In 2023 pharmacists dispensed 1.18 billion prescriptions across England 137 million more than in 2022
• Pharmacy numbers have dropped from 11,522 (2022) to 11,414 (2023), compared to last year's ‘Prescription For Pressure’ - a fall of 108.
• The average number of prescriptions per pharmacy sits at 103,380 which equates to 283 a day

Gophr’s data also revealed that pharmacy deserts are most prevalent in the South East (6,024 people per pharmacy), the East of England (5,327),  the South West (5,284) and the Midlands (4,975) - parts of the country where numbers of pharmacies are lagging behind population numbers. London, which “ranked highly” last year, dropped out of the top four with 4,759 people per pharmacy.

Supermarket data analysed by Gophr, delivery partner for pharmacies such as Superdrug and Well Pharmacy, also found that supermarkets such as ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury’s have seen more and more in-store pharmacies shut down in recent years - the most high profile being Sainsbury's closure of all 237 in-store Lloyds pharmacies in June 2023.

Demand for pharmacy services is also being driven by an ageing population. Across England and Wales, people aged 65 and over now account for nearly 20% (18.6%) of the population.

Graham Smith, Strategic Account Director at Gophr, stated, “The second year of data from our “Prescription for Pressure” initiative shows that the pressures on pharmacies continue to grow. More prescriptions, more patients, more responsibilities but fewer pharmacies does not make for pretty reading and this new analysis really brings it home.

“The sector needs to rethink how it serves its patients, as the current solutions that are being provided by in-house pharmacy delivery teams, are proving costly, time-consuming and ultimately a distraction from clinical focus.”