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England’s South East region has the highest patient-to-pharmacy ratio after the closure of more than 90 pharmacies in recent years, according to a new analysis raising concerns of growing pharmacy ‘deserts’.

Courier company Gophr found there are 6,138 people per pharmacy in that region after 95 were shuttered between 2022 and 2025, a period that also saw prescription items jump by more than 10 million in the area.

The South West of England showed a similar ratio, with 6,091 people for every open pharmacy (64 closed between 2022 and 2025) and a seven million hike in annual prescription items.

The East of England was identified as the third largest pharmacy desert, with 77 recorded closures and a ratio of 5,957 people per pharmacy.

In total, there have been 551 pharmacy closures since 2022, while annual prescription items have leapt by 83.5 million to 1.26bn.

Gophr’s Graham Smith commented: “At Gophr, we’ve been monitoring the growing ‘pharmacy deserts' across England since 2022, concerned by the numbers, with little sign of the trend slowing.

“Pharmacists are being asked to do more even as workload, financial constraints, and customer demand place them under significant pressure. Something has to change if pharmacies are going to remain accessible and sustainable in the long term. 

“Last year, Gophr analysed the online pharmacy landscape and saw growing demand for distance-selling options, while we’re also seeing more appetite for the home delivery of prescriptions – meaning delivery support should become an increasingly important part of the wider pharmacy discussion.”

“While financial struggles may make implementing a third-party delivery service daunting, a pharmacy chain we’ve partnered with previously saved around £600k over two years. The minimal operating costs, less downtime and typically faster delivery gained from outsourcing can ease the pressure on pharmacists under already tremendous and growing strain.”