Small brick-and-mortar pharmacies in England have seen a net 2.5% growth in the last nine months, NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) figures have revealed.
According to the latest available data, the number of small pharmacies - those belonging to a chain of less than six premises - grew from 4,940 to 5,067 between last August and April.
Read more: Nearly 8% of brick-and-mortar pharmacies closed in five years
Meanwhile, large pharmacies - those in a chain of 100 or more premises - saw a 1.9% decrease in branch numbers over the same period. There were a net 60 closures of large pharmacy premises in total, falling from 3,227 to 3,167.
And medium sized pharmacies - those in a chain made up of six to 99 premises - saw the biggest decline, with a net 108 closures. Numbers fell by almost 6% over the past nine months, from 1,814 to 1,706.
“Unsustainable”
National Pharmacies Association (NPA) director of corporate affairs Gareth Jones told C+D that “all parts of the community pharmacy sector are under severe stress, and pharmacy closures are a sign of that”.
“Independent pharmacies tend to be adaptable and resilient,” he added, “yet the future for them as well as larger groups is unsustainable without substantial new investment in the network”.
Read more: Net 77 new small pharmacies opened in England in past year
It comes after NHSBSA data for February revealed that 7.9% of brick-and-mortar pharmacies have closed in the last five years.
The figures also showed that online pharmacies have seen a 19.5% increase since 2021, with the number of DPSs rising to 441, up from 339 in 2021.