A “record number” of counselling sessions for pharmacists were funded by Pharmacist Support last year, the charity has said.
Pharmacist Support’s 2025 impact report, published yesterday, revealed that funded counselling sessions increased by almost 60%, rising from 439 in 2024 to 700 in 2025.
The report also showed that the charity processed 438 applications for financial assistance, distributing a total of £171,438 in grants, and handled 1,032 enquiries through its support services.
Read more: Community pharmacist numbers fell by 10% last year, survey finds
And the number of visits to the charity’s website increased by 156% in 2025, it noted.
Pharmacist Support said it had “responded to increasing demand for support across the pharmacy profession” in 2025.
The charity achieved a “90% positive wellbeing impact rating” among service users, it added, as well as a “95% likelihood of beneficiaries returning for support”.
It also highlighted that several new initiatives were launched last year, including a “comprehensive financial wellbeing programme” and the official launch of the “A Dose of Wellbeing” podcast.
“Pressures remain intense”
Pharmacist Support said the report “comes at a time when pressures on pharmacy teams remain intense”.
Its latest Workforce Wellbeing Survey, carried out in 2024 with the Royal College of Pharmacy, found that 91% of community pharmacy workers were at “high risk of burnout”.
It also showed that 61% of respondents “had considered leaving their current role or the pharmacy profession in the last year”.
Read more: Two in five pharmacists say work ‘significantly’ impacts wellbeing
Pharmacist Support chair of trustees Esther Sadler-Williams said the survey findings serve “as a clear reminder that the pressures facing our pharmacy family remain significant”.
She added that the charity is “proud of what has been achieved, but the need for our work has never been clearer”.
“We remain committed to ensuring every member of our pharmacy family knows they have somewhere to turn and can access the support they need, when they need it.”
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It comes after NHS England’s Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey for 2025 revealed earlier this year that the number of community pharmacists in England fell by 10% last year.
And it follows a Pharmacists’ Defence Association survey, published in May, revealing that more than 40% of pharmacists say their work has a “significant negative impact” on their wellbeing.
