BRITAIN’S pharmacies are facing a “tsunami of closures” through government underfunding and “rotten contracts,” the profession’s representative body has warned.

A flagship government scheme intended to ease pressure on GPs by urging patients to consult their pharmacist first is heading for disaster, it is claimed, less than two months after launch.

The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies said that more than 400 community pharmacies across England closed between 2019 and 2023, and that community pharmacists are collectively facing a £1.2 billion shortfall in funding.