Rural areas have been hit hardest by a wave of pharmacy closures, which have seen nearly nine in 10 council areas across England suffering a loss of vital pharmacies, new research reveals.

The National Pharmaceutical Association, who carried out the research, is warning that England faces a material threat to the availability of vital medicines if a decade of underfunding and closures is not addressed.

In addition, the research reveals:

•            87% of council areas have seen at one or more pharmacy close in their area in just the past two years.

•            17 out of the bottom 20 areas of the country for pharmacies per 100,000 people are councils covering rural areas.

 •           95% 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. 

Paul Rees, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said: ‘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.'

In response to the research, Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board, said: ‘Councils want every local area to have a strong community pharmacy network, particularly those in deprived areas with the greatest health needs, or rural communities with the furthest distance to travel.

‘People rely on their local pharmacy not just as a place to get medicines, but as somewhere they can go to for informal health advice and information. If this lifeline was removed, it would mean more people having to potentially travel longer distances to GP surgeries and adding to existing pressures.'