High street pharmacies in England are facing a crisis, with 436 permanent closures and over 13,000 temporary closures last year, prompting fears that some areas are becoming “pharmacy deserts”. This trend is hitting rural areas, older populations, and deprived communities the hardest.
Healthwatch England’s findings, based on data from NHS bodies, highlight staff shortages as a key driver of these closures, jeopardizing the government’s Pharmacy First initiative to ease the burden on GPs. The closures not only affect access to care but also contribute to the wider crisis in the sector.
The Department of Health and Social Care plans to review funding for pharmacies, acknowledging that they have been neglected for years. They aim to make better use of pharmacists’ skills by allowing them to prescribe medication and launch a review of community pharmacy funding.
The National Pharmacy Association warns that losing access to pharmacies will only increase pressure on the already strained NHS system, forcing more patients into GP surgeries. The closure of pharmacies not only affects access to medication and health advice but also disrupts the government’s efforts to shift focus away from hospitals and into the community.
Efforts to address the crisis in pharmacy closures are urgently needed to ensure that patients have equal access to essential healthcare services. The government’s commitment to evaluating funding for community pharmacies is a step towards addressing the deepening crisis in the sector.
Source
Photo credit www.theguardian.com