Key Summary
- There has been a 7 percent increase in the total full-time pharmacy workforce.
- This increase is driven by growth in pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians, accuracy checkers, and pharmacy technicians.
- Analysts see this as a cost-saving measure by pharmacy owners to remain in business.
Pharmacy organisations have expressed serious concern over the recent NHS England Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey 2025, which showed a sharp decline in the number of pharmacists and locum pharmacists.
There has been a 10 percent decrease in the number of pharmacists, with the overall headcount for 2025 declining to 25,822 from 28,763 in 2024.
There has also been a reduction in the average full-time employee (FTE) pharmacist in each pharmacy (1.66 compared to 1.79 in 2024).
There is also a 10 percent decrease in the use of locum pharmacists.
This is despite the fact that there has been a 7 percent increase in total workforce (FTE).
This increase is driven by growth in Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technicians (77 percent), accuracy checkers (35 percent), pharmacy technicians (32 percent), and foundation trainee pharmacists (23 percent).
This is being seen by analysts as a cost-saving measure by pharmacy owners to keep their doors open.
Urgent funding needed: CCA
Dr Nick Thayer, head of Policy at the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) said, “We are alarmed by the sharp fall in pharmacist numbers, with the workforce decreasing by nearly 3,000 pharmacists in just one year. A 10 percent reduction in pharmacist numbers is hugely concerning. This comes at a time when the workload expected of the community pharmacy sector continues to rise considerably.
"Pharmacist numbers going down as rapidly as they are raises serious concerns about workforce sustainability and capacity. Urgent action, including additional funding, is needed to stabilise the workforce and prevent further decline. We will continue to look closely at the detail behind the data to understand better what the trends are showing.”
Structural reform needed: IPCN
The Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network (IPCN) said the Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey 2025 provides further evidence that the current Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) is placing "unsustainable pressure" on the sector and that urgent structural reform is now required to stabilise and strengthen independent community pharmacy.
"While the survey reports a headline 7 percent increase in overall workforce FTE, the underlying data reveals a far more concerning picture for frontline service delivery and long-term sustainability.
"Most notably, pharmacist headcount has fallen by 10 percent, alongside a reduction in average pharmacist FTE per pharmacy from 1.79 to 1.66.
"At the same time, the number of pharmacy premises continues to decline." IPCN claimed that these findings expose a growing disconnect between the increasing clinical expectations being placed upon community pharmacy and the workforce capacity available to safely deliver them.
'Not sustainable'
IPCN spokesperson Rifat Asghar-Hussain said, “The NHS cannot continue expecting community pharmacy to absorb additional clinical responsibilities while simultaneously operating with fewer pharmacists, fewer pharmacy premises, and rising operational pressures.
"The workforce data demonstrates adaptation under financial strain, not sustainable transformation.”
"The survey also highlights that much of the workforce growth is being driven by trainee and support roles, including a 77 percent increase in pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians, 35 percent growth in accuracy checking roles, and 32 percent growth in pharmacy technician capacity."
Difficult environment
IPCN stated that while multidisciplinary workforce development is welcome, the trend also reflects the increasingly difficult financial environment facing contractors.
“Independent pharmacies are being forced to redesign workforce models around financial survival rather than long term strategic clinical development.
"Skill mix evolution has an important role to play, but it must not become a substitute for properly funded pharmacist led patient care,” IPCN added.
The organisation also noted that the continued expansion of Independent Prescribers across community pharmacy demonstrates the profession’s willingness to evolve clinically, with more than 3,100 pharmacist independent prescribers now working within the sector.
However, IPCN warned that the current CPCF does not adequately reflect the governance, infrastructure, supervision, consultation time, indemnity requirements, and workforce investment required to safely deliver higher-level prescribing services.
“Independent prescribing is not a simple extension of existing PGD models. It is a significantly higher-level clinical intervention requiring appropriate reimbursement, workforce planning, and operational infrastructure. New clinical responsibility requires new money.”
Large-scale vacancies
IPCN also expressed concern regarding the operational fragility identified within the wider pharmacy workforce, particularly the reported vacancy rates for key support roles, including: Accuracy checkers (68 percent), trained medicines counter assistants (30 percent), and delivery drivers (26 percent).
“These are not peripheral roles. They are critical operational functions underpinning dispensing safety, workflow resilience, patient access, and medicines optimisation across England.”
IPCN believes the findings reinforce the need for:
- A sustainable long-term CPCF settlement• Core funding reform before additional unfunded service expansion
- Proper reimbursement for pharmacist independent prescribing activity
- Ringfenced investment into workforce development and retention
- Infrastructure investment to support safe clinical service delivery
- Recognition of the unique role independent pharmacies play in maintaining neighbourhood healthcare access
The organisation added that community pharmacy remains one of the most accessible parts of the NHS and continues to absorb significant patient demand from general practice and urgent care settings despite prolonged financial pressure.
“Independent pharmacies remain embedded within their communities and continue to deliver extraordinary value for patients and the NHS. But goodwill and resilience alone are not a long-term workforce strategy.
"Without meaningful structural reform, there is a genuine risk that the sector’s ability to safely deliver both core services and future clinical ambitions will continue to erode.”
