New Freedom of Information findings reveal a worrying picture of pharmacy closures across Surrey

Following our post yesterday on #WorldPharmacistsDay Healthwatch England has released data from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) looking at permanent and temporary* pharmacy closures across England.

Here in Surrey, Surrey Heartlands ICB reported that there were 13 permanent and 280 temporary closures in 2023, the latter equating to 1,193 hours of temporary closures.

Nationally, between 1 January and 31 December 2023, 436 pharmacies closed permanently, that’s an average of one pharmacy per day. During the same period, 13,863 temporary closures were reported across 41 ICBs, resulting in 46,823 hours lost and an average closure length of three hours and 40 minutes.

The Healthwatch England data suggest that older people and rural communities have been hit the hardest by these closures.

Earlier this year we spoke to over 400 people here in Surrey about the impact of local pharmacy closures. Our survey found that residents really value the service and clinical expertise which their local pharmacy can provide – they are often the most visible and accessible part of the health system

Have you been impacted by temporary or permanent pharmacy closures? We’d love to hear from you.

*Regulations mean that pharmacies can only dispense medicines legally if there is a pharmacist on site. If a pharmacist cannot be present due to unforeseen circumstances, then the pharmacy will be forced to temporarily close.