Key Summary
- Pharmacists prevented over 610,000 prescribing errors last year, and these interventions protect patients from potential harm.
- The efficient procurement of medicines by pharmacies, on behalf of the NHS, saves taxpayers over £750 million annually.
- For over 90 percent of people in England, pharmacies are located within walking distance, and hence they are more accessible.
A new report by the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) shows that though community pharmacy provides a vital role in the supply of NHS-prescribed medicines and is very accessible to patients, its services remain undervalued, underappreciated and under threat.
The volume of NHS-prescribed medicines has surged by 17 percent in the past decade, but the national dispensing fee has only gone up by 21p between April 2017 and April 2025, despite a 35 percent rise in inflation over this period.
Pharmacists dispense 1.15 billion items annually, ensuring high-quality and efficient care.
More than one in four pharmacist roles are vacant in some regions.
The report also highlighted that community pharmacies provide an invaluable safety net for patients.
Pharmacists prevented over 610,000 prescribing errors last year, and these interventions protect patients from potential harm.
As patients visit pharmacies up to 12 times more frequently than GPs, pharmacy teams can easily identify changes in patient behaviour or act if a patient fails to collect their medicines.
The efficient procurement of medicines by pharmacies, on behalf of the NHS, saves taxpayers over £750 million annually.
This is despite a significant rise in medicine expenditure, volume, and per-person usage from 2014 to 2024. For over 90 percent of people in England, pharmacies are located within walking distance, and hence they are more accessible.
Pharmacies deliver medicines from a variety of settings - high streets and health centres, out-of-town locations, supermarkets or through online providers.
The report points out that while the government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England states that community pharmacy will transition from dispensing medicines to offering more clinical services, dispensing remains undervalued and underappreciated.
The report wants the government to take the following steps to safeguard and strengthen the essential role of dispensing to meet its ambitions for the NHS.
It wants the NHS dispensing fee to match the actual dispensing expenses incurred by pharmacies.
Expand independent prescribing training and career pathways to strengthen clinical capacity and attract future talent.
Empower pharmacists to resolve many prescribing errors, and update ‘supervision’ rules so pharmacy technicians can support safe, efficient dispensing.
Give pharmacists access to a single, shared patient record to support informed decisions and make interventions visible across care settings.
Use pharmacy data and explore digital tools, including AI, to improve clinical assessment and patient safety.
CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison said, “The report underscores the vital role of community pharmacies today and the critical role they will play in helping to deliver the government’s 10-year plan."
