Numark chairman Harry McQuillan has urged the government to heed Lord Darzi’s stark warning in his report on the crisis engulfing the NHS that underfunded community pharmacies are closing and leaving patients without access to healthcare.

McQuillan (pictured) said Lord Darzi’s insights, which laid bare the problems besetting the NHS including a “surge” in people with multiple long-term conditions and fewer children having access to vaccines, could unlock pharmacy’s “full potential.”

His report said spending on the community pharmacy contract had fallen by eight per cent since 2015, although McQuillan told Independent Community Pharmacist that cut is nearer 30 per cent when inflation is considered.

“With increasing demand and expanded services, a perfect storm is brewing, if it hasn’t already hit,” he said.

McQuillan said the report’s focus on the large number of people living close to a pharmacy “spoke volumes about the essential role pharmacy services play in supporting populations.”

The report noted over 93 per cent of patients living in areas of highest deprivation live within a mile of a pharmacy compared with 71 per cent in areas of the lowest deprivation.

However, McQuillan warned patient access was deteriorating as pharmacies close.

“As Lord Darzi rightly points out, one of the NHS's greatest strengths lies in the accessibility and visibility of community pharmacy, particularly in serving deprived communities,” McQuillan said.

“Yet, despite this, our pharmacies are at risk, with more than 1,200 having closed their doors since 2017. I find these closures deeply concerning, especially when the report makes it clear that community pharmacies are perfectly positioned to alleviate some of the NHS’s most pressing issues.”

Insisting pharmacy closures “should set alarm bells ringing,” McQuillan said: “Our communities rely on local access to healthcare and with primary care services already overwhelmed, it’s vital community pharmacy is given the opportunity to fill the gap.”

He added: “If access to pharmacy continues to decline, we are at serious risk of replicating the current issues facing general practice – long waiting times, overstretched resources and a growing number of patients with unmet healthcare needs.”

McQuillan also said “sustained investment” is needed to ensure Pharmacy First in England is “a truly national solution.”

“Lord Darzi’s report provides a clear call to action. Community pharmacy already plays a vital role in ensuring accessible healthcare,” McQuillan said.

“But without the necessary support and funding, we risk losing a service that is indispensable to both patients and the wider NHS.”