Report shows lowest number of pharmacies since 2015/16

The General Pharmaceutical Services report provides information on community pharmacies and appliance contractors in England, the NHS services they provided and associated costs, between 2015/16 to 2021/23.

Key findings of the report show that in England in 2022/23:

• there were 11,414 active community pharmacies and 111 active appliance contractors. This is the lowest number since 2015/16.
• a total of 297 new pharmacies opened, while 388 pharmacies closed.
• 1.08 billion prescription items were dispensed by community pharmacies. This is a 3.4% increase from 2021/22.
• 11 million prescription items were dispensed by appliance contractors, a 2% increase from 2021/22.
• 1.04 billion prescription items were dispensed via the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS). This is 96% of all items dispensed, a small increase from 2021/22.
• the cost of drugs and appliances reimbursed totalled £9.7 billion, a 7.5% increase from 2021/22.

To read the full report, visit this link.