In the ballot – run by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), 99% of pharmacy owners said they were willing to limit their services in the interests of patient safety if improved funding is not forthcoming.

More than 63% of members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in the ballot, representing 3,049 independent community pharmacies in England or 3,399 including Wales and Northern Ireland.

The NPA is urging the Government to meet and discuss an urgent uplift for pharmacy funding to guarantee patient safety and services for vulnerable people – alongside a modernisation of pharmacy with a funded expansion of clinical services.

However, the body is warning that without an urgent and significant uplift in funding delivered in the coming weeks they would have no choice but to recommend pharmacies to withdraw services to patients.

In addition, pharmacy owners voted in favour of a motion saying they 'cannot guarantee community pharmacy services will remain safe into the future if the current depressed funding, pharmacy closures and increasing workload continues'.

Around 700 pharmacies have shut in England in the past two years, the equivalent of seven a week so far this year.

The ballot comes as the Budget increased National Insurance Contributions and the National Living Wage, compounding the situation.

National Pharmacy Association chair Nick Kaye said: ‘Pharmacies desperately want to support their local communities with access to medicines and advice but have been forced into an untenable position by a decade of underfunding which has led to a record number of closures.

 ‘The sense of anger among pharmacy owners has been intensified exponentially by the Budget – with its hike in National Insurance employers' contributions and the unfunded National Living Wage increase – which has tipped even more pharmacies to the brink.'

He added: ‘Pharmacies don't want to reduce services but we will be left with no option but to suggest that pharmacy owners should consider acting on the clear ballot results if government does not act to protect this vital and much-loved part of our health service.'