The value of pharmacy
Published on: 10th February 2022 | Updated on: 9th May 2025
Community pharmacies are well used and trusted by their local communities. They provide a range of healthcare services including helping people to get the most benefit from their medicines and to lead healthier lives. Introducing further clinical services that support the medicines supply function of these pharmacies could offer more convenient care for patients and better value for the NHS. This makes the network of pharmacies a valuable asset for the provision of healthcare.
Overview of community pharmacy
- One of the four pillars of primary care in England.
- Best known for traditional role as the go-to location to get prescriptions dispensed.
- Key destination for over-the-counter medication and advice.
- The sector can be broadly split into Independents and Multiples pharmacies.
- Easily accessible and part of the community.
- Majority provide a physical premises that local patients can visit, but some operate as online pharmacies who offer services at a distance.
Community pharmacies are situated in high street locations, in neighbourhood centres, in supermarkets and in the heart of the most deprived communities. Many are open long hours when other health care professionals are unavailable. There are several different types and sizes of community pharmacies, ranging from the large chains with shops on every high street or in edge of town supermarkets, to small individually owned pharmacies in small communities, in the suburbs and often in deprived areas or rural settings.
The latest information shows that:
- Four out of five people in England live within a 20 minute-walk of their local pharmacy;
- Over 99% of those in areas of highest deprivation are within a 20-minute walk of a community pharmacy;
- Approximately 1.6 million people in England visit pharmacies daily;
- 56 million people a year go straight to a pharmacy as their first port of call for advice; and
- 1.125 billion prescription items were dispensed in 2023/24.
Community pharmacy is consequently a socially inclusive healthcare service providing a convenient and less formal environment for those who cannot easily access or do not choose to access other kinds of health service. Almost all pharmacies have a private consultation area specifically for confidential or sensitive discussions.
Community pharmacies across England deliver just over 69 million walk-in health advice consultations per year, saving the NHS 38 million GP appointments1, according to new data released today from Community Pharmacy England.
In addition to dispensing more than a billion prescriptions each year, the Pharmacy Advice Audit highlights the huge demand pharmacies are facing for healthcare advice which is helping keep local communities healthy and out of hospital.
Key findings from our Pharmacy Advice Audit in 2024 include:
- Community pharmacies across England deliver just over 69 million walk-in health advice consultations per year.
- This saves the NHS 38 million GP appointments every year.
- Pharmacies are also helping more than 4.3 million people a year who can’t access other parts of the NHS.
- Whilst 85% can be helped there and then, of those referred on, pharmacies identify around 2.7 million people a year needing urgent help.
- Pharmacy teams spend more than 2 hours a day providing these clinical consultations.
- But with 50% more informal consultations than in 2020, a significant amount of pharmacies’ capacity is being taken up by unfunded work.
Community pharmacies contributed a net value of £3 billion to the NHS, public sector, patients and wider society in England in 2015 through just 12 services, with a further £1.9 billion expected to accrue over the next 20 years. This means that community pharmacies deliver substantially more in benefits than they receive in compensation, providing excellent value to the Department of Health and Social Care.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) quantified the economic contribution of community pharmacy in England in 2015 and discovered that the network provided a benefit of more than £250,000 per pharmacy or £54.61 for every resident of England.
Community pharmacy: providing great value for communities and references
An infographic showing the key findings from the PwC report.
The value of community pharmacy – summary report
A summarised version of a Community Pharmacy England commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) report to examine and quantify the economic contribution of community pharmacy in England in 2015.
Further resources and examples
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For more information on this topic please email comms.team@cpe.org.uk
