#PSC10YearsTrading
The big news in the sector in 2012/13 was a change in the NHS Market Entry regulations for England. Whilst not everyone might have been as excited as us, these changes impacted on every pharmacy in the country in one way or another.
The most notable change was the removal of the 100-hour exemption which had, until that time, allowed anybody to open a pharmacy provided they were prepared to trade 100 hours a week. Whilst this created opportunities for some, it was also seen as a threat by many operators who feared a pharmacy suddenly opening next door. 100-hour pharmacies had been a major factor in destabilising the pharmacy sales market so many owners were glad to see the back of them.
The other big change was the introduction of pharmaceutical needs assessments (PNAs) which were supposed to revolutionise the process for opening new pharmacies. PCTs (later NHS England area teams) were obliged to review pharmacy provision in their area every 3 years and decide whether there were any gaps. In our view, most PNAs were not particularly helpful in relation to identifying contract opportunities as they rarely identified gaps but there have been successes for people who know where to look!
The regulations have stayed pretty much the same since 2012 except for some very minor tweaks.
For PSC, our pharmacy sales business started to get off the ground, with our first three successful completions being a mix of independent and multiple owned pharmacies. They were also widespread covering the most easterly point in England across to Bristol in the south-west. We’ve covered many miles since and been through several cars between us!
We also had a successful year for new pharmacy contracts with four granted, some under the old rules and some under the new ones. Two of those pharmacies have subsequently been sold so it has been a profitable exercise for our entrepreneurial clients!
Here’s a recap of years 1
