Many rural areas risk being left as ‘pharmacy deserts’ if current pharmacy closure rates continue, new analysis by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has found.

New NPA analysis of pharmacy closures over the last two years shows that rural areas have been hit hardest by a wave of closures that have seen nearly nine in 10 council areas across England suffering  a loss of vital pharmacies.

The NPA warned that England faces a material threat to the availability of vital medicines if a decade of underfunding and closures is not addressed. 

A number of rural areas are reliant on one or two providers, with these areas particularly vulnerable to the impact of closures. If a particular pharmacy company closes than all the pharmacies in a specific area could close down leading to the creation of a ‘pharmacy desert’.

The NPA is urging the Government to reverse the 40 per cent real terms cuts to community pharmacy budgets over the last decade, which have forced over 1,500 to close and many more to cut back opening hours.

The new analysis looked at the number of pharmacies in each council area compared to their population. It found:

• 87 per cent of council areas have seen one or more pharmacy close in their area in just the last two years.
  
  
• 17 out of the bottom 20 areas of the country for pharmacies per 100,000 people are councils covering rural areas.
  
  
• 95 per cent of the lowest 20 council areas for pharmacy provision have seen one or more pharmacy close in the last two years.
  
  
• Council areas with the greater levels of deprivation have seen the highest levels of closures during the period, risking widening health inequalities as the crisis in community pharmacy continues. 80 per cent of the top 20 areas for closures have higher than average levels of deprivation, including Plymouth, North East Lincolnshire, Liverpool and Torbay.
  
  
• West Berkshire, the area with the lowest provision in the country, has over four times fewer pharmacies than Westminster per 100,000 of the population, the area with the highest provision.   

The NPA, which represents independent community pharmacies, warned that many rural areas could risk being left with little or no pharmacy provision at all without urgent action from the government, potentially forcing vulnerable or older residents to travel long distances to get hold of vital medication or treatment.

The new analysis published last week has shown that West Berkshire has the lowest number of pharmacies per 100,000 of their population in the country, shortly followed by Central Bedfordshire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, with all areas having seen pharmacies close in the last two years.

The analysis also shows that Plymouth has seen the highest number of pharmacy closures per 100,000 of its population, with York, Liverpool, Darlington and Wakefield all close behind.

Over 90 per cent of an average community pharmacy’s income is dependent on funding from the NHS, including for the dispending of medication and the Pharmacy First programme.

Paul Rees, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association 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 Government needs to act now to stabilise the pharmacy network and lay out a route map 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.”