Two-thirds of community pharmacies in England are at risk of “imminent closure,” with some owners reportedly remortgaging their homes and raiding pension savings to keep their businesses afloat, according to an urgent warning delivered to the Government.
More than 3,200 independent pharmacies have written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, warning they may be forced to scale back services within weeks unless immediate financial support is provided.
In the letter, pharmacy owners describe facing a “cliff edge of cost rises,” including higher business rates and an increase in the national minimum wage from April. They say these pressures are pushing many already struggling pharmacies to breaking point.
The letter outlines what signatories call a “desperate situation we face at the front line of the NHS.” It stresses the vital role pharmacies play in communities across England, from high streets and villages to densely populated urban areas.
“Our pharmacies are in high streets, in villages, in communities and collectively we see millions of patients – your voters – every day,” the letter states.
Pharmacists estimate they serve around 15.5 million patients, providing essential services including dispensing prescriptions, offering health advice and delivering vaccinations. However, they claim there is now a funding shortfall of more than £2 billion between NHS allocations and the real cost of operating a pharmacy.
The warning follows a recent survey by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which found that approximately two in three pharmacies operated at a loss last year.
According to the NPA, eight pharmacies closed in England in January alone, while 95% of respondents said they are not financially able to support the Government’s ambition to shift more care from hospitals into local communities.
Olivier Picard, who chairs the NPA, said: “The fact that so many pharmacies operate at a loss should set off serious alarm bells in Government about the stability of medicine supply on which millions of people depend.
Pharmacies serving millions of patients are at real risk of closure as a tsunami of new costs arrive, and are faced with agonising decisions about how they can continue.
“Without urgent action, millions of patients risk losing the most accessible part of the NHS – their local pharmacy. This is now a question of patient access and NHS resilience, not just pharmacy funding.”
Ministers have repeatedly emphasised the importance of expanding community-based healthcare to ease pressure on GP surgeries and hospitals. However, pharmacy leaders argue that without urgent financial intervention, the very network expected to deliver that strategy could continue to shrink.
Community pharmacies are widely regarded as one of the most accessible parts of the NHS, often acting as the first point of contact for patients seeking medical advice. Industry figures warn that further closures would inevitably increase pressure on already overstretched GP practices and accident and emergency departments.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Community pharmacies are a vital front door to the NHS, and we’re working hard to turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect that left the sector on the brink of collapse.
“This year, we increased community pharmacy funding to £3.1billion, which is the largest uplift for any part of the NHS over the last two years. This will help us give patients more care closer to home, freeing up GP appointments.
“Pharmacies are central to our shift towards community-based care, with services like free contraceptive consultations already reaching over 660,000 in the 12 months up to August 2025 – a 300% increase from the year before.”
With rising costs and funding disputes unresolved, pharmacy owners say time is running out.
Unless a settlement is reached soon, they warn, communities across England could see reduced services — or lose their local pharmacy altogether.
