Nearly one in five voters (18 per cent) have seen a local pharmacy close in the past 12 months, a new poll commissioned by the National Pharmacy Association has found.

The Association is warning that pharmacy closures will ‘pile pressure on GP surgeries’. Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting last week said that the GP system was ‘on the brink of collapse’.

The online poll of 2,183 adults, which was conducted between 18th-19 June, revealed that:

• 18 per cent of people reported that at least one local pharmacy had shut in the last 12 months, with 6 per cent reporting that more than one had closed locally
• 13 per cent of people reported that their local pharmacy had cut their opening hours in the past 12 months
• 83 per cent of people would be concerned about their local pharmacy closing -  88 per cent of over 65's would be concerned, compared to 77 per cent of 18-24's.

Four fifths of people (79 per cent) polled had visited their pharmacy at least once in the last year. The NPA has called on the incoming government to commit to addressing the funding crisis that has seen 10 pharmacies closing a week so far this year.

Two thirds of pharmacies in England (63 per cent) have had to cut their opening hours since 2015 due to funding pressures, previous NPA analysis found. On average there has been a 6.1 hour reduction (10 per cent) in opening hours for every pharmacy.

Paul Rees, NPA chief executive, said: “Politicians have been clear during this general election campaign what a struggle it is for many people to see their GP currently, but as community pharmacies continue to shut, people wanting medical care for minor ailments will be forced to turn to their GP instead.

“If the next 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.”