Dozens of pharmacies earmarked by the Government as vital to their communities have closed their doors in the past two years, a new analysis by the National Pharmacy Association has claimed.

The £20 million Pharmacy Access Scheme (PhAS) is intended to protect pharmacies in areas where people do not have ready access to medication as well as localities with significantly higher than average levels of deprivation, says the NPA.

However, its analysis of the current GPhC register of pharmacies showed that at least 58 PhAS pharmacies listed in 2022 are no longer open despite this additional Government subsidy.  

“The pharmacy network has shrunk under the strain of a decade’s budget cuts, potentially leaving patients with long distances to travel for vital medication or advice,” the NPA says.

The trade body highlighted examples of two pharmacy closures to support its claim, both covered by the PAS:

• Bishop’s Lydeard Pharmacy in Somerset, where patients now have four miles to travel or a three-minute bus journey to get to their nearest alternative pharmacy
• Wheaton Aston Pharmacy in Stafford, where patients now have a six-mile journey to get to their nearest alternative pharmacy. 

Both pharmacies also served nearby villages.

The NPA points out that more than 1,250 pharmacies in England have been forced to close in the past decade, repeating its view that some areas risk becoming “pharmacy deserts”.

Commenting on the analysis, Nick Kaye, NPA chair, said: “It’s horrifying that so many of the pharmacies singled out by the Government as in need of special support to protect their communities are now shut for good.

“This analysis just shows the potentially devastating impact on patients if they lose their local pharmacy to chronic underfunding that has cut a swathe through local health services in the past 10 years.

“Pharmacies ... are still closing at an alarming rate. We have been calling on the Government for emergency funding to halt the closures and unleash the power of the pharmacy network to drive care in our communities and this is still more evidence that they need to act now.”