Staff shortages force pharmacies to close for 100,000 hours in a year amid plans to give them more work

Exclusive: It comes as experts warn plans to move work from GPs to pharmacies will have ‘marginal’ impact on GP crisis

Rishi Sunak has his blood pressure checked by a pharmacist during a visit to a GP surgery and pharmacy in Weston, Southampton (PA)

Staff shortages forced pharmacies to shut for 100,000 hours in a year, new figures show, just as the government has unveiled plans to shift more GP work their way.

The data, shared exclusively with The Independent by the organisation which represents pharmacies in England, also showed that almost 1,000 establishments closed for good between October 2016 and November 2022.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) figures revealed that pharmacies in the most deprived areas were more likely to shut permanently due to lack of staff, with areas such as Birmingham and Manchester among the worst affected.

The figures come as the government announced plans on Tuesday to allow pharmacists to prescribe medicines for conditions including earache, sore throats and urinary tract infections without GP involvement.

However, experts have said the plans are unlikely to significantly reduce pressure on GP practices as prescriptions for these conditions make up just 3 per cent of all appointments.

And the King’s Fund health think tank warned of the potential for a postcode lottery – saying some pharmacies will not be able to offer the services because they may not have access to diagnostic tools, or sufficient staff and consultation rooms.

Richard Slogett, a former government adviser and founder of Future Health, said the plans had some merit, but added: “When weighed against the overall challenge of record primary care pressures and the difficulty of retaining GPs [the gains] are likely to be marginal at best. The claim that these measures will end the 8am scramble feels decidedly premature.”

Taiwo Owatemi, MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary pharmacy group, welcomed the steps, which will see pharmacies get £645m in funding to provide the services.

However, she said the funding had come “too little, too late”, warning the government had already failed to address “deep-rooted workforce issues and serious supply constraints”.

According to the data from the PSNC, the most common reason for the temporary closure of pharmacies was the inability to secure pharmacist cover. Other reasons included a lack of available permanent staff and short-notice staff sickness.

The PSNC also said that of the 932 permanent closures recorded between October 2016 and November 2022, 63 per cent were at large multiple-site pharmacies.

It comes as LloydsPharmacy said it is “reviewing its community pharmacy estate and is selectively selling some branches.” Although it said no stores, apart from those within the Sainsbury’s estate were at risk of closure.

Janet Morrison, PSNC chief executive, said the government’s plans were “a very welcome step” towards putting pharmacies at the heart of primary care and prevention, and making better use of pharmacists’ clinical skills.

She added: “The plans also give pharmacies some desperately needed investment. But until detailed negotiations have concluded we won’t know the extent to which this will help pharmacies through the pressures they are facing, but we do know that getting this money into pharmacies quickly will be critical at a time when many pharmacies are battling for survival.”

This article was amended with a statement from LloydsPharmacy addressing reports it is set to close stores.