A net 77 new small pharmacy branches have opened across England in the past year, NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) data published this month (October 6) has revealed.
The data on pharmacy openings and closures also showed a net 116 large pharmacies closed in the 12 months up to the end of this September.
Read more: IN FULL: Number of pharmacies drops below 10,000 in 20-year first
Medium-sized pharmacies saw a net reduction of 37 over the same period, it found.
The NHSBSA classifies small pharmacy groups as those with one to five premises, medium pharmacy groups as those with six to 99 premises, and large pharmacy groups as those with at least 100 premises.
Read more: Exclusive: Morrisons considering selling pharmacies amid review
The data also showed as of September 30, there were just 9,970 brick-and-mortar pharmacies in England - down from 10,046 the same time last year.
The total number of distance-selling pharmacies (DSPs) in the country stood at 432, compared to 412 the year before.
It comes after legislation to prevent any new DSP applications from being accepted came into effect in June, amid concerns there are already “more than sufficient” numbers.
Read more: ‘Teetering on the brink’: 63% of indie pharmacies facing closure
Meanwhile, C+D has exclusively revealed supermarket Morrisons is considering selling some of its pharmacies as part of a review to make the healthcare side of its business more financially sustainable.
The number of pharmacies being considered for sale and the timeline, however, remain unclear as the process is still ongoing, a Morrisons representative told C+D this week.
