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An average of four pharmacies closed each week in England in 2024, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has said.
Using data from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), the NPA reported that 222 pharmacies closed in 2024, which is the “second highest annual closure rate on record”.
It added that 700 pharmacies have closed since 2022, “leaving England with its lowest number of pharmacies in nearly 20 years and forcing patients to travel record distances to access vital medicines”.
The closures also put “significant pressures onto neighbouring pharmacies”, the NPA said.
The NPA’s analysis found that the highest rate of pharmacy closures out of all council areas in England was in West Berkshire, which it also described as a “pharmacy desert”, owing to it having the fewest pharmacies per patient.
It added that Plymouth and Liverpool had seen the second and third highest rate of closures, respectively.
In May 2024, the Company Chemists’ Association analysed NHSBSA data and reported that there had been a net loss of 432 community pharmacies in England in the financial year 2023/2024.
The NPA said it is calling on the government to “urgently start consultations on this year’s pharmacy funding settlement” and that a deal is needed that “starts to reverse cuts” to avoid further pharmacy closures.
It warned earlier this month that it would be left with “little choice” but to advise pharmacies to take collective action over delays to pharmacy contract negotiations, after pharmacy owners voted in favour of taking action in a ballot in November 2024.
The current ‘Community pharmacy contractual framework’ (CPCF) arrangements expired on 31 March 2024. Health secretary Wes Streeting said in December 2024 that negotiations on the new CPCF will start in early 2025.
In a blog published on 10 January 2024, Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said that CPCF negotiations “cannot come quickly enough”.
“The figures continue to show the reality that for some pharmacy businesses, any help that may be coming is already too late. Without urgent help, the sector is close to collapsing,” she added.
On 16 January 2025, Morrison told The Pharmaceutical Journal that the NPA’s findings were “an appalling record”.
Morrison said: “Community pharmacies have been calling out for support for years but, whilst policymakers were dithering, communities across the country have been losing vital access to medicines and healthcare advice.
“With every day that passes, more community pharmacies are falling into debt and administration. Many community pharmacy owners are now considering whether to close, sell or make further cuts to staff and patient services before they collapse.”
Tase Oputu, chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English Pharmacy Board, said: “The government must prioritise sustainable funding for pharmacies to safeguard patient care and access to medicines, healthcare and advice.
“With ever-increasing pressures on pharmacy teams, urgent action is needed to ensure patients continue to benefit from a safe, resilient and accessible community pharmacy network.”
Research, published by Healthwatch England in September 2024, revealed that nearly 14,000 temporary pharmacy closures, resulting in 46,823 hours lost in pharmacy services, were reported across England in 2023.
