Ninety-one per cent of the 3,273 respondents across England, Scotland and Wales said they would like to see pharmacies on their ideal high street, in a poll that ran from May 20-22.

Just 3% of respondents stated they did not want pharmacies on their high street, while 5% said they did not know.

From a list of 26 shops, pharmacies were ranked third – only below banks and post offices – after participants were asked: “Thinking about your ideal high street, which of the following types of shops would you want or not want to see on it?”

Pharmacies more valued by over-65s

The poll results also suggested that pharmacies were most valued by over-65s, with 97% opting to see a pharmacy on their ideal high street, compared with 95% of respondents aged 50-64, 90% of those aged 25-49 and 78% of 18-24-year-olds.

In a survey of 1,003 UK adults run by the National Pharmacy Association in March on the current level of access to NHS service, 91% of respondents said they wanted more NHS services to be available in local pharmacies.