West Berkshire worst in UK for pharmacy closures
The area has been called a 'pharmacy graveyard'
Up to 63 per of pharmacies could close in the next year, with around 4 in 10 being unable to pay in full for the cost of prescription medication for patients, two shocking new surveys reveal today.
Surveys by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Community Pharmacy England (CPE) found that nearly half of pharmacy owners had been forced to remortgage their homes or raid personal savings in the last year to subsidise the cost of medicines for patients, with services being put at risk.
Pharmacy leaders are warning that pharmacies in England are still ‘teetering on the brink’ despite a much-needed uplift in their funding announced earlier this year.
Findings from a survey by CPE found that:
· 37 per cent were unable to pay wholesaler bills on time, who supply pharmacies with prescription medication for patients.
· 45 per cent have relied on personal savings or re-mortgaged their homes in the last year to subsidise their pharmacy.
· Only 6 per cent of pharmacy owners said their pharmacies were profitable, with over half (51 per cent) saying they were losing money
Meanwhile, a survey by the NPA found that:
· 63 per cent of pharmacies believed they would have to close for good in the next 12 months without additional financial support from the government, risking vital services to patients.
· 94 per cent of pharmacies said the latest funding settlement did not bring stability to their finances.
This comes as new NPA analysis of NHS figures show that an additional 72 pharmacies closed this year so far in England, around 2 a week or 10 a month.
The government provided pharmacies with the first real-terms increase in funding for a decade in April. However, the recent NHS commissioned independent economic analysis of pharmacy finances found that pharmacies still face a £2.6 billion spending gap.
Speaking at the time, Pharmacy Minister Stephen Kinnock said he knew the offer was ‘not perfect by any means….the sector is under tremendous financial pressure.’
It follows the news that West Berkshire has overtaken Plymouth as having seen the highest rate of pharmacy closure out of any council area in the country per head of their population.
West Berkshire is also the country’s ‘pharmacy desert’, with the fewest pharmacies per patient.
Nationally, four pharmacies shut permanently every week in England last year, meaning 2024 saw the second highest rate of pharmacy closures ever
Pharmacy leaders have said that the 10 year plan represents a once in generation opportunity to transfer care into the community and expand the role of community pharmacy but this could not be realised without bringing stability to pharmacy finances.
Pharmacy leaders are calling on the NHS and Government to increase core funding to reflect the true cost of delivering services and to secure the long-term sustainability of the community pharmacy network.
The full impact of funding increases announced in April are yet to be fully felt but the figures show that services to patients remain under strain.
Henry Gregg, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association said:
“No NHS service should be being propped up by the personal savings or mortgages of the individuals running it.
“It’s clear that the scale of the challenge this government has inherited is enormous.
“Despite recent positive moves in the right direction, these surveys show many pharmacies are teetering on the brink and need support if they are to survive and achieve their full potential.
“The NHS 10 year plan is an historic opportunity to finally shift care into communities and expand the role of community pharmacy in a way we have never seen before.
“However, this cannot be done whilst pharmacies are unable to pay their bills and keep their doors open.
“To fully realise this massive opportunity and revolutionise care for patients, we need additional funding to stabilise the pharmacy network and allow pharmacies to invest in new services.”
Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy England said:
“Community pharmacies across England have been under unbearable pressures for a number of years now. Rising costs across the board, combined with funding that was decreasing in real terms, have left pharmacy owners making impossible choices – for larger companies this has meant closures of pharmacy branches, and for smaller independent pharmacies we have seen enormous personal tolls, and increasing numbers of business insolvencies. All of these have had unavoidable but deeply concerning impacts on patients, as the results of our Pharmacy Pressures Survey 2025 show.
“The survey also reveals a deeply concerning trend of pharmacy owners fighting to keep their business afloat, and facing disastrous personal financial situations as a consequence. It is unthinkable that entrepreneurial, patient-facing health professionals who have spent their lives providing high quality NHS services, are being left in this very desperate position. Pharmacy owners should not be subsidising NHS services from their own pockets. They should be focusing on supporting patients and planning for the future, not worrying about how to keep the lights on.
“Despite a very welcome funding uplift this April, our latest polling results from that month show that the pressures are ongoing. This remains a frightening time for very many pharmacy owners, who have put their personal financial situations on the line to keep serving their patients and local communities, and we can expect to see further steps taken by pharmacies to survive, with an inevitable and negative impact on patients and other primary care providers.”