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Since 2006, the number of community pharmacies in England has generally increased. The number of pharmacies stood at over 11 thousand in 2017/2018, before dropping to lower numbers in the following years. The latest number for 2023-2024 stood at just over 12 thousand community pharmacies. That was again an increase compared to the previous year. 

Dispensing numbers

In 2024/25, there were 1.15 billion prescription items dispensed from pharmacies in England. The number of prescriptions dispensed has increased in the last ten years. More than 3,000 pharmacies dispensed an average of over ten thousand items a month in 2023/24, although the average number of items dispensed per month per pharmacy was approximately 7,100 in that year. 

What is being dispensed?

In 2024, the therapeutic class with the highest total of prescription items dispensed was for the cardiovascular system at some 374 million items, followed by drugs for the central nervous system, which had approximately 237 million items dispensed. The leading drug dispensed was Atorvastatin, which treats those with high cholesterol to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.