Hundreds of pharmacy closures pose risk to the health of UK's elderly

Hundreds of pharmacy closures are risking the health of the elderly, a watchdog has warned. Healthwatch England sent Freedom of Information requests to local health organisations across England and found there were 436 permanent closures last year.

It says the closures have "huge impacts" on patients, particularly those in rural communities and older people. Pharmacy leaders said that "pharmacy deserts" around the country could put more pressure on GPs and leave patients having to travel further to access care.
Some 13,863 temporary closures were also reported during 2023, according to the Healthwatch briefing document. Many were driven by staff shortages.

It comes after the Government has asked pharmacies to do more to take some workload from overstretched GPs. The Mirror is campaigning to save family chemists and stop the closures.

Louise Ansari, chief executive at Healthwatch England, said: "Our research has shown that temporary pharmacy closures present a widespread challenge in England.

"This issue is having huge impacts on older people and is particularly acute in rural regions where people already have to travel further to visit their pharmacist. Staff shortages, the key driver of permanent and temporary closures, call into doubt the potential of Pharmacy First, meaning people can't get the advice, care and medications they need and when they need them.

"We know that people's frustration often stems from not being informed about pharmacy closures in advance. Better signposting that pharmacies will be closed and setting out alternatives would go some way to improving patient experience. However, in the longer term, action must be taken to address staff shortages and unequal access.

A national evaluation of pharmacy funding and the size, role-mix and distribution of the pharmacy workforce is necessary to improve planning of pharmacy services."

The new Pharmacy First service encourages people to seek care from a local pharmacist for several common ailments.
Patients have contacted Healthwatch because they say they cannot access essential medicines.

Temporary closures were more common in rural areas and the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board appeared to be worst affected. Areas with older populations were more likely to be affected by temporary pharmacy closures.

"These findings suggest that the group most likely to use pharmacy services, older people, may be least well served when it comes to accessing them," according to the report authors.

Debbie Riddell, from Paignton in Devon, said she has faced difficulty when trying to collect prescriptions for thyroid and blood pressure issues.

The 70-year-old said: "Many of the pharmacies in my area have closed down. My local one is still open, but staff are overwhelmed with the demand. I was shocked by what I saw on my recent visit to pick up my medication, I had to queue out the front door and wait for at least 20 minutes to be attended to. There's even a notice at the door that because of closures in the area, it will now take at least 10 days to prepare a repeat prescription."

Paul Rees, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said: "It's clear that rising levels of closures are risking leaving some areas of the country as pharmacy deserts, with people having to travel much further to get access to vital services.

"Community pharmacies act as the front door to the NHS. If people lose access to them, it will force more patients into the 8
o'clock scramble at their GP surgery, putting pressure on the rest of our NHS system.

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"If the Government wants to cut GP waiting times - and free up GPs to see patients with more serious conditions - it needs to invest in community pharmacy."