SALISBURY residents have the worst access to pharmacies in the UK, a recent study has revealed.

According to online pharmacy Medicine Direct, each physical pharmacy in the city, 39 in total, is found to serve around 5,950 people.

The ‘Pharmacy Blackspots’ study, based on the amount of residents currently served by each pharmacy in their area, suggests this is the highest number of residents to be served by one site in the country.

This is closely followed by Hereford with 5,510 people per pharmacy, and Reading with 5,189 per pharmacy.

The study also revealed there will be no physical pharmacies left on England’s high streets by January 2069, should the rate of recent closures and funding cuts continue.

This news comes as high street pharmacies across the south west begin delivering the Covid-19 vaccine.

From today, January 21, pharmacies in Bristol, Poole, Weston-Super-Mare, Gloucestershire and Christchurch will be the first of many community pharmacies to offer the service.

More pharmacies will go live throughout January in the south west, and it is hoped by NHS England that 200 sites will be offering the vaccine nationally by the end of the month.

Commenting on the study results, Jon Higham, managing director at Medicine Direct, said: “While the Covid-19 vaccines are a huge step in the right direction for recovering from the ongoing pandemic, administering it presents a logistical conundrum and pharmacies play an important role and the necessity of community pharmacies and dispensaries has been thrown into question once again.

"However, it’s clear that supply and demand for these services vary drastically across the country, which could eventually result in longer waiting times for a vaccine in certain locations.

“The reality remains that pharmacies have been on the decline across the country - in part due to what the government has referred to as clustering, where multiple pharmacies exist within a 10-minute walk of one another. Clustering was the driving force behind the decision to cut funding to the pharmacy sector, and the reason why funding isn’t set to increase again, if at all, until 2024."

Mr Higham added: “Of course, rates of decline can flex and the Covid-19 pandemic may well bolster the industry. With that said, recent reports of Lloyds Pharmacy closing many of its branches suggest that, regardless of the pandemic, the stark finding that there could be no physical pharmacies left within our lifetime stands true.”

Despite the online pharmacy's research, the NHS undertakes a pharmaceutical needs assessment to determine whether pharmacy provision is adequate in every area, and where there are gaps in this provision.

The assessment takes into account demographics, the number of pharmacies allowed in an area based on demographic, and NHS services already provided in an area, affecting the needs for pharmaceutical services.

Responding to the data, a spokesperson for Well Pharmacy said the Salisbury branch was moved from inside a doctors surgery to Winchester Street back in 2019, to "improve patient access to the pharmacy".

They added: "At Well, we’re committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of the local community.

"We are also pleased to offer patients choice with our Well Online Pharmacy – we believe that patients’ needs are best served by an omni-channel solution, where patients can choose to engage with us digitally, or in person, depending on their individual needs and preferences.

"We’re also starting to offer more of our services online, which will support more remote and rural areas to access the healthcare services they want and need.”

Other Salisbury pharmacies including Superdrug and Boots have been approached for comment.

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