Struggling Shropshire pharmacies among those needing funding 'urgently'
More pharmacies are expected to close unless the government provides "urgently" needed funding to the "struggling" sector, industry leaders have said.
The warnings come as healthcare providers await proposals to improve access to primary care, which are expected on Tuesday.
According to analysis by the BBC, the number of pharmacies in England has fallen by 160 over the last two years.
There are now 11,026 community chemists, according to data from NHS Business Services Authority - the lowest number since 2015.
And in Shropshire, the situation is compounded by an ageing population and a lower number of pharmacies for the population.
An assessment of the county's needs found in September 2022 that the number of community pharmacists had fallen because of branch closures and Shropshire's growing and ageing population.
The average Shropshire resident is now about 48 years old, compared to 41 in England as a whole.
And there are fewer community pharmacies in Shropshire than in England as a whole, with 6,800 residents for each one in the county, compared to 4,800 in England.
On Tuesday, the government will publish a primary care access plan designed to improve and extend availability of consultations by GPs.
Part of the plan is expected to include an expanded role for pharmacists, but there are concerns about the feasibility.
Many pharmacists feel they have been taken for granted and expected to offer more services, even though their real-terms funding has fallen. They estimate there has been a 30 per cent cut in government funding over the last seven years, after taking account of inflation.
Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said workforce challenges have led to many pharmacies shutting their doors "for good" since 2015, when the sector received a "big" funding cut.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are expecting that this year many more will do the same unless the Government comes out and injects pharmacy with some liquidity and funding to keep the sector going."
Ms Hannbeck said there is a £1.1 billion shortfall in funding every year which has resulted in many pharmacies operating at a loss and struggling to pay medicine wholesalers' bills.
"For pharmacists to keep their head above the water something needs to be done urgently," she added.
"We are urgently needing the government to step in and provide that funding," she said.
