Community pharmacies in England generate £31.6bn of social value, according to a new economic analysis published today.
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) said it commissioned the analysis, based on 2023/24 data, to investigate the value of dispensing-related activities – such as managing prescribing errors and medicines shortages – as well as the provision of self-care and medicines optimisation advice and some public health services.
Read more: Community pharmacies dispensed 1.19bn items in 2025/26
It added that the figures show how pharmacies helped patients manage their health, reduced pressure on GPs and hospitals and gave taxpayers value for money by “avoiding costs elsewhere in the health and care system, demonstrating the significant return created by investment in pharmacy services”.
The report found that self-care services delivered £26.7bn of value, around 84% of the total, with dispensing services delivering £3.5bn and public health services delivering £1.4bn.
Of the £31.6bn total, every £1 spent on the sector created £88 in social value, with each of the country’s community pharmacies providing an average of almost £3m in social value per year.
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CPE said it released the findings ahead of the upcoming autumn budget to highlight how the sector can help deliver the “government’s ambitions for neighbourhood healthcare, economic growth and NHS reform”.
Its chief executive Janet Morrison said the autumn budget provides “an opportunity to build on that value”, and that what the sector offers goes “beyond the services delivered at the pharmacy counter”.
“Investing further in community pharmacy could help government to build an NHS fit for the future and deliver even more value,” she added.
NMS creates £23bn
CPE said the health improvements received by patients and carers led to economic benefits, such as improved productivity and reduced time off work, and they benefitted from 68% - around £21.4bn – of the social value delivered.
Both the NHS and “wider society” each benefitted from around £4.9bn of social value, and other public services benefitted from approximately £800m.
CPE said the £31.6bn of social value generated by the sector came from just £359m in funding, and resulted in a net saving of £5.3bn for the public.
Read more: Wasted medicines cost NHS almost £500m last year, NPA analysis finds
The top “value-creating” service was the new medicines service (NMS), which brought £17.8bn of social value by improving medicines adherence and supporting “better outcomes” and “long-term savings”.
The report estimated that for every £1 invested, the NMS generated £75 in benefits, and the service created approximately £23bn in social value overall from a cost of £307m.
The minor ailments service created £7.6bn in social value by helping patients avoid GP visits, while the hypertension case finding and Covid vaccination services created £1.3bn and £1.18bn in social value, respectively.
More investment
The analysis found that community pharmacies’ workload has increased by 45% over the past decade due to prescription volumes rising and clinical services expanding, despite rising costs and a fall in funding “in real terms”.
CPE also said pharmacies have delivered “an unparalleled 64% in efficiencies during this time”.
The research was conducted to update a 2016 study, and CPE said the social value created by the sector is “likely to be higher today” through delivering Pharmacy First since January 2024.
Morrison said the public “understandably want to know that public money is being spent wisely, particularly at a time when government finances are under pressure and the NHS is facing huge demands”.
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She said community pharmacy delivers “outstanding value for money for the government and taxpayers” and has a “vital role to play in helping the government deliver more value from the money it spends on health services”.
And CPE said a sustainable sector “should be viewed as part of the infrastructure required to improve NHS productivity rather than simply as a cost pressure in the health budget”.
It called for investment into “core pharmacy services” to expand on the “high value” they offer already, and asked MPs to write to the health secretary about community pharmacy or raise the issue in Parliament.
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National Pharmacy Association chair Olivier Picard said the data shows that community pharmacy “saves money as well as lives”.
“Not to mention providing the kind of support that helps older people live independently in the community for longer – as a key component of primary care – taking some weight off overstretched social care teams,” he said.
“With the budget fast approaching, we hope to see due recognition of the cost-effectiveness and productivity of community pharmacy,” Picard added.
Read more: NPA: Give community pharmacy expanded meds optimisation role
Company Chemists’ Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison said the sector is “well placed to support the shift towards care closer to home, greater prevention and in so doing releasing capacity elsewhere in the NHS”.
“To realise the sector’s full potential, it is vital that there is investment to close the funding gap, and to expand the care community pharmacy can provide,” he added.
It comes as the NHS Business Services Authority revealed that community pharmacies in England dispensed 1.19bn prescription items in 2025/26.
