Charity Pharmacist Support saw enquiries surge by over a third in 2016, it has said.

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The charity, which celebrated its 175th anniversary last year, said it had seen a 35% increase in enquiries (1099 in total) and a 14% (282 in total) increase in those it referred to specialist debt, benefits and employment law advisors.

As a result of the increased requests for assistance, Pharmacist Support provided over 10,000 ‘acts of support’ to pharmacists, former pharmacists and trainee pharmacists, it said.

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The charity’s chief executive Diane Leicester-Hallam praised the hard work of Pharmacist Support staff, volunteers, fundraisers and partner organisations for their ‘commitment’ during 2016.

She said: ‘Their commitment enabled us to deliver a record number of acts of support and helped us smash our £175,000 fundraising target in what was an incredibly special year for the charity. The response we received from those in the profession was awe-inspiring’.

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Pharmacist Support said the money raised was used to fund research a pilot new programmes to help pharmacists prevent and manage stress, as well as to ‘support those in the profession who hit challenging times’.