Data Sources

Primary data sources

Pharmacy Compare uses three official public datasets:

1. NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Open Data Portal — Community Pharmacy Contractor Details. The official record of every pharmacy holding an NHS dispensing contract in England. Published at opendata.nhsbsa.net under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
2. NHS Digital Organisation Data Service (ODS) — Current GP Practices (epraccur dataset). The official register of every active GP surgery in England, used to populate the "Nearby NHS GP Surgeries" section shown on each pharmacy page. Published at digital.nhs.uk/services/organisation-data-service.
3. Office for National Statistics (ONS) — Census 2021. Built-up area population figures used to calculate the "Pharmacy Density" insight on town pages. Source: ONS "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021" released 2 August 2023. Used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

How often we update

The NHSBSA releases a new contractor dataset roughly monthly. We refresh our directory to match shortly after each release. The data shown on the site was last refreshed in May 2026 (this is displayed on each pharmacy and town page).

What is included in our listings

• Pharmacy trading name and contractor name
• Full street address and postcode
• Phone number (where supplied to the NHS)
• Town, county and NHS region
• ODS code (the unique NHS identifier)
• 100-hour contract status
• Distance selling contractor status
• Out-of-hours dispensing contractor status
• Local Pharmaceutical Services contractor status

What is NOT in the NHS public dataset

We are honest about what is missing — to avoid showing you data we have not verified:

• Opening hours — not part of the NHSBSA contractor dataset. Please call the pharmacy.
• Specific NHS services offered — Pharmacy First participation, flu jab availability, blood pressure checks etc. are not per-pharmacy flags in the public data.
• Accessibility details — wheelchair access, hearing loops, signing services, parking are not in the dataset.
• Customer reviews and ratings — we do not scrape Google or Trustpilot reviews. Reviews shown on our site will only ever be those submitted directly by users.

Anywhere this information would normally appear, we either omit it or mark it as "Contact pharmacy to confirm" rather than guessing.

Geographic coverage

Our data covers community pharmacies in England, plus a small number in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Patients in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should refer to their national NHS pharmacy services for current listings (NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, HSC NI).

Reporting errors

Spot a mistake or a closed pharmacy still showing as active? Email us at info@pharmacycompare.uk with the ODS code and we will check it at the next monthly refresh.

What we are not

Pharmacy Compare is an independent directory and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated on behalf of the NHS, NHS England, the NHSBSA or any pharmacy chain.