Chemist crisis hitting supply of medicines in rural areas

RURAL areas are at risk of becoming "pharmacy deserts" after being hit hard by closures.

- Hanna Geissler

Analysis by the National Pharmacy Association found that 87% of council areas in England have lost at least one chemist's in the last two years.

The vast majority of closures have been in rural locations.

And councils with higher levels of deprivation have seen the most chemist closures, which risks widening the health divide between rich and poor.

Plymouth has seen the highest number of pharmacy closures per 100,000 of its population, with York, Liverpool, Darlington and Wakefield all close behind.

West Berkshire was found to have the lowest number of pharmacies per 100,000 people, at just 9.9.

This is more than four times fewer than in Westminster, which has 38.7.

Risk The NPA, which represents independent pharmacies, said chemists had faced a 40% real-terms cut to their budgets in the last decade.