The last financial year saw a net loss of 432 pharmacies in England, according to the latest official NHS figures.

Data from the NHS Business Services Authority for 2023-24 showed an average of eight pharmacies closed each week. The Company Chemists’ Association said the net loss was a “record” and warned the situation is having "a disastrous impact on patients."

“There are now 1,180 fewer pharmacies in England compared to 2015,” it said, warning poor funding and “the continued contraction of the pharmacy network” was jeopardising patients’ access to medicines and the national rollout of Pharmacy First.

“Since 2015, core funding for community pharmacy in England has been cut in real terms by 30 per cent and in that time, there has been a net loss of nearly 1,200 pharmacies,” the CCA said.

It warned closures were largely occurring in deprived areas and claimed its own analysis showed 34.9 per cent of the permanent closures took place in the top 20 per cent of deprived parts of the country between April 1, 2015 and February 24, 2024.

“The CCA is concerned that this trend of pharmacy closures may undermine the access to healthcare in deprived areas, despite there being greater need of primary care in precisely these areas,” it said.

CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison said government cuts to community pharmacy funding was “simply untenable.”

“Our analysis highlighted that unfortunately, these closures are disproportionately affecting the communities who need primary care access the most,” he said.

“Pharmacies cannot be expected to operate at a loss, and effectively subsidise the NHS, any longer. Without significant additional funding, fewer pharmacies will result in patients finding it even harder to access the medicines and clinical NHS care that they need.”