Pharmacy closures have left large numbers of patients in urban areas in England relying on a single pharmacy for healthcare services, according to data released by an online pharmacy delivery partner.

Research by Gophr uncovered “pharmacy deserts” across the country where “pharmacies are lagging behind population numbers.” The largest number of people per pharmacy was in the South-East with 6,024, followed by the East of England with 5,327.

The South-West was next with 5,284 people per pharmacy followed by the Midlands with 4,975. However, the data appeared to show an improvement in London which dropped out of the top four with 4,759 people per pharmacy.

Gophr’s data also revealed the number of pharmacies fell from 11,522 in 2022 to 11,414 last year while pharmacists dispensed 1.18 billion prescriptions across England in 2023, 137 million more than in 2022. A pharmacy dispenses an average of 103,380 prescriptions a year, equating to 283 a day.

“The second year of data from our ‘prescription for pressure’ initiative shows that the pressures on pharmacies continue to grow. More prescriptions, more patients, more responsibilities but fewer pharmacies does not make for pretty reading and this new analysis really brings it home,” said Gophr’s strategic account director Graham Smith.

“The sector needs to rethink how it serves its patients, as the current solutions that are being provided by in-house pharmacy delivery teams, are proving costly, time-consuming and ultimately a distraction from clinical focus.”

Gophr warned an increasing workload “for already overstretched pharmacists” was being driven largely by Pharmacy First and supermarket pharmacy closures, including Sainsbury's closure of all 237 of its in-store LloydsPharmacy branches last year, had “added to the strain” on the pharmacy network.