Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the retention rate was for NHS (1) community pharmacists, and (2) hospital pharmacists, in the financial years (a) 2022–23, (b) 2023–24, and (c) 2024–25 to date.

Data on retention rates for pharmacists working in community pharmacies is not held centrally. The following table shows the annual leaver rates from the National Health Service of pharmacists, in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, between 30 September 2021 and 30 September 2024:

Source: NHS England Hospital and Community Health Service Workforce Statistics.

The data is presented for the 12-month period to each September to allow for the inclusion of the latest data available. Leaving rates are calculated by dividing the number of joiners in the period by the average number of staff in that category at the beginning and end of the period.

The data is based on the headcount of staff and shows people leaving active service in the NHS, and therefore includes those going on or returning from maternity leave or a career break, or those moving to work as pharmacists in other sectors, such as primary care or community pharmacy.