#PSC10YearsTrading
By our third year of trading, it seemed like some sort of stability was returning to the sector. The 2012/13 NHS Market Entry Regulations were starting to ‘bed in’ and we were embracing the various changes resulting in many successful applications on behalf of clients.
The last few remaining new 100-hour pharmacies were opening which also helped to stabilise the sales market as existing owners knew there would be no further competitors opening close by.
For pharmacist owners who had operated 100-hour contracts for a period of time, it was becoming apparent that in some cases that it was difficult to make the businesses economically viable, so they started looking at ways to reduce running costs. The only real option was to acquire a nearby “standard hour” contract and replace the existing 100-hour contract, thus allowing them to reduce opening hours. Several critical conditions had to be met for these transactions to succeed and one of the first to complete successfully was handled by ourselves in the Kent area where, acting on behalf of a small group, we negotiated the sale of a Superdrug contract and successfully relocated it to our client’s premises. We have successfully handled many such cases since then.
In the same year we also successfully relocated a contract for Superdrug from their town centre store to a health centre on the outskirts of the town. To our knowledge this is one of very few Superdrug pharmacies that are not located within a standard store.
In November 2013, the RPSGB published a report titled “Now or Never – Shaping Pharmacy for the Future”. It’s always interesting to look back on these reports to see what’s changed since the report was written.
Key findings of the report included the following:
- The pace of change in the way pharmacies provide services was too slow and there was too much reliance on traditional dispensing and supply of medicines due to inflexible funding models.
- Community pharmacy is marginalised in the health and social care system at the local and national level.
- The funding environment would become challenging as a result of automation, e-prescribing and online services.
- High Street presence and long opening hours mean pharmacy has the potential to play a crucial role in new models of out-of hours and urgent care.
We think most pharmacy owners would agree that, in general terms at least, the first two points still apply and although there have been some improvements over the last few years it feels like there is still a long way to go. However, the third point turned out to be pretty accurate and whilst it may not have been what the authors had in mind in respect of the fourth point, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic was certainly an opportunity for the profession to show its importance when it comes to providing care when other healthcare providers are not available!
Here’s a recap of years 1 – 2
