The number of community pharmacies in England is on the rise according to the latest official figures.

Data from NHS Business Services Authority shows there were 12,009 active community pharmacies in 2023-24, 595 more than in 2022-23 and the highest since 2015-16. The number of active appliance contractors in England also increased by one to 112 in 2023-24.

The number of items dispensed by community pharmacies rose from 1.08 billion in 2022-23 to 1.11 billion in 2023-24 while the number of items dispensed was 11.8 per cent more than the 995 million items in 2015-16. 

There was a 4.89 per cent increase in the number of items dispensed by appliance contractors in 2023-24 compared with 2022-23.

In 2023-24, 1.08 billion items were dispensed by community pharmacies and appliance contractors through the electronic prescription service, equating to 96.1 per cent of all items dispensed during the year.

That was a 60.7 percentage points increase on 2015-16, when 355 million items were dispensed via EPS, equating to 35.4 per cent of all items.

In 2023-24, 99.7 per cent of all contractors dispensed at least one prescription item via EPS. That was a 97.5 per cent increase on 2015-16.

In 2023-24, 3.8 million flu vaccines were administered by community pharmacies, with 9,200 pharmacies delivering vaccines. Pharmacies claimed four million new medicine services which was a 42 per cent increase from 2022-23.