Pharmacy crisis as almost one in 10 lost in past decade creating 'chemist deserts'

Pharmacy closures mean there are now 1,000 fewer community chemists open, latest data shows.

It means almost one in ten pharmacies have been lost since 2016 despite the NHS asking them to take on more work. The National Pharmacy Association says the network of pharmacies in 2025 is now at its lowest in 20 years. The Mirror is campaigning to save family chemists and stop the closures which are piling pressure on overstretched GPs. Analysis of data for England and Wales by the House of Commons Library shows in September 2016 there were 12,204 pharmacies but this has now fallen by 8% to 11,184 - despite them serving an aging and growing population.

This has come at the same time as a stark postcode lottery with five Parliamentary constituencies - which typically include around 70,000 people - having fewer than 10 pharmacies left open. Other areas have up to 70 chemists.

The Liberal Democrats, which commissioned the research, warn “pharmacy deserts have become normalised” and are calling for chemists to get tax relief. Lib Dem health spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said: “Pharmacies provide a lifeline to communities, allowing people to receive the care they need without being forced to endure the 8am scramble for a GP or the dangerously long waits for hospital admission.

"As these pharmacy deserts become normalised we risk putting hospitals already on the brink under even more pressure, adding to the misery so many patients have had to suffer unnecessarily.”

Closures are continuing despite the launch last year of the Pharmacy First service to take pressure off GPs. It encourages people to initially seek care from a local pharmacist for several common ailments; earache, sore throats, sinusitis, shingles, impetigo, urinary tract infections and infected insect bites and stings.

The new research shows that out of 440 constituencies in England and Wales, some 77% saw a decline in the number of pharmacies since 2016. The constituencies of Feltham and Heston, Bristol East and Newbury all lost a third of their pharmacies.

The areas with the highest number of pharmacies lost were the Cities of London and Westminster at 22, Birmingham Ladywood losing 11 and Blackburn which lost 10.

Nick Kaye, chair of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), said: "We've long been warning of the risk of pharmacy deserts, with patients in rural and isolated areas struggling to access vital services from their local pharmacy. This has been an incredibly challenging time for under pressure pharmacies due to the impact of historic cuts and it is clear the government has inherited an intolerable situation.

"The latest funding offer from the government is a clear step forwards, although the scale of historic underfunding means it still leaves pharmacies facing a £2.5 billion gap according to NHS commissioned independent economic analysis. We will be watching closely to see if this brings much needed stability to the pharmacy network and want to work with the government to move care into the community and address challenges pharmacies face head on."

Pharmacists have paused “collective action” which would see them shut on weekends and some evenings after receiving a new pay deal from the Government. The NPA, which represents 6,000 member chemists in England, is considering the deal ministers say could amount to up to 15% in extra funding.

The unprecedented action, which was due to start this month, would also have seen community chemists stop providing some services and would be the first such ‘work to rule’ stand-off in the NPA’s 104-year history. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Pharmacies are integral to the fabric of our communities and we want them to play a bigger role as we shift care out of hospitals and into the community through our Plan for Change.

“We’re working to turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect that has left the sector on the brink of collapse. We have recently agreed an extra £617 million of funding over 2 years with Community Pharmacy England to help community pharmacies, support the sector and provide patients with greater services closer to home.”