Pharmacy wholesaler PHOENIX UK is investing over £13 million to build a new state-of-the-art distribution hub in Wakefield.
The 260,000 sq. ft facility is expected to be operational next year and will service community pharmacies, hospitals and dispensing doctors across the North East
of England and Yorkshire.
In a statement on Tuesday (July 5), PHOENIX UK said the completed hub will feature 22 dock level loading bays and seven access doors to enable the productive arrival
and distribution of medical products.
It will also be highly energy efficient, including the use of Solar PV on its roof. The car park will also offer 46 electric vehicle charging bays.
Speaking at an official opening event held on 30 June to mark the expansion of the company's distribution capabilities, group managing director of PHOENIX Steve
Anderson said: "Over the last few years, we have seen an outstanding growth in customer demand for our core services outpacing the market: Wakefield is a prime
example of how we are committed to investing in the future by expanding our UK-wide operational capabilities to offer all our customers across the country the
best possible service they need, want and deserve.
PHOENIX UK and the British Heart Foundation has joined hands for a charity partnership to continue the ongoing commitment of improving heart health across the UK.
The PHOENIX team have set the donation goal of £20,000 by June 2023 and are set to take on a range of exciting challenges over the course of the next year, such as
a Tough Mudder and the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, all in a bid to raise funds for the heart health charity.
Nigel Swift, Managing Director of Rowlands, PHOENIX UK's largest community pharmacy member organisation, commented: "We are thrilled to be partnering with The British
Heart Foundation. Its lifesaving research perfectly aligns with our mission across PHOENIX UK - to enable more people to live happy and healthy lives - and so we
look forward to raising vital funds and supporting the excellent work of the charity."
Hayley Gough, Community Relationship Manager at The British Heart Foundation, added, "It's fantastic to see the team at PHOENIX UK commit to raising so much money
for The British Heart Foundation. We can't wait to see all that they achieve and are so grateful for their fundraising efforts."
A 14-year-old heart transplant campaigner visited Phoenix UK's headquarters in Runcorn recently to raise awareness of the importance of organ donations.
The visit by Max Johnson, founder of 'Max and Keira's law', along with his mother Emma, coincided with the launch of Phoenix UK's partnership with the British
Heart Foundation (BHF) in which the pharmaceutical provider committed to set a donation goal of raising £20,000 by June 2023 for the heart charity.
Max and Emma met with Phoenix UK's employees and gave a talk on the importance of the work they have carried out on behalf of BHF.
Max, who was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy when he was eight years old, also shared his own story. His life was saved when he was gifted with Kiera Ball's
heart - a nine-year-old girl from Devon who died in a car accident.
Max and his family campaigned tirelessly to change the law in England in favour of an opt-out system for organ donation since he was 'gifted' his new heart. 'Max
and Keira's Law' passed in May 2020.
Jeremy Meader has resigned as managing director of Numark after five years on the job, and having lead the wider PHOENIX group's sales and marketing teams for
about eight years.
A press release issued on Wednesday (February 1) said Mr Meader "has decided to leave the business to pursue his career outside of the PHOENIX group", the owner of
Numark.
It said: "PHOENIX thanks Jeremy for his commitment and dedication over the years and wishes him all the best for his professional and private future."
Previous to joining PHOENIX, Mr Meader was head of sales at Alliance Healthcare, a role he took up in 2012 after serving GSK's Consumer Healthcare division for over
13 years in various capacity.
Phoenix UK has partnered with 2San Global Ltd, a diagnostic and digital tools company, to supply home testing kits to its 5,200 independent pharmacy members
through Numark and selected Rowlands Pharmacy branches nationwide. Both Numark and Rowlands Pharmacy are owned by Phoenix.
Numark will be the first UK wholesaler to supply 2San's home tests, granting members swift access to these screening products for essential health insights in
minutes, all at reasonable prices, the company said in a statement.
Numark will offer 10 essential tests to its 5,200 independent pharmacy members from August, while Rowlands Pharmacy will provide a selection of tests in over
380 branches beginning September. This collaboration aligns with Phoenix's goal of improving diagnostic accessibility and easing strain on the NHS.
PHOENIX UK has appointed Harry McQuillan, former CEO of Community Pharmacy Scotland, as Chairman of Numark, a community pharmacy membership organisation.
It has over 3750 members ranging from single store pharmacies to large chains, spread across the 'Four Nations'. The organisation provides its members with the
professional and commercial support they need to deliver exceptional care to local communities.
As Numark Chairman, McQuillan will be front and central of representing the interests of the members, and will help ensure policy makers across the UK understand
fully "the potential of community pharmacy."
Steve Anderson, Group Managing Director, PHOENIX UK, commented: "Harry brings to our Numark partnership an outstanding wealth of experience and understanding of
how community pharmacy can work successfully with government officials and politicians.
Opella Healthcare, trading as Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, recently signed a dual partnership agreement with Alliance Healthcare and Phoenix Healthcare
Distribution for the wholesale supply of its consumer healthcare products to community pharmacies throughout the United Kingdom.
The new dual pharmacy wholesale partnership model, which became effective on 1 February 2024, underscores Sanofi's commitment to delivering exceptional customer
service to its customers, the company said in a press release.
The groundbreaking collaboration is expected to enhance operational efficiency as part of the company's go-to-market model, facilitating improved service levels
and stock availability of key products, including Cialis® Together, Allevia®, Buscopan®, Dulcolax®, and Phenergan, to community pharmacies in the UK.
Nick Linton, head of UK country operations, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, said that the company is committed to supporting the "self-care agenda" in the UK.
"Making healthcare as simple as it should be to bring health and wellbeing to all is a key priority for us in 2024 and beyond," he commented.
Opella Healthcare, trading as Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, said it has entered into a dual partnership agreement with Alliance Healthcare and Phoenix
Healthcare Distribution for the wholesale supply of its products to UK pharmacies.
In effect from the start of February, the new dual partnership will ensure Sanofi Consumer Healthcare 'continues to provide its customers with exceptional
customer service', the company said, adding that the increased efficiency will facilitate improved service levels and stock availability of Cialis Together,
Allevia, Buscopan, Dulcolax and Phenergan to community pharmacies in the UK.
"At Sanofi Consumer Healthcare we are committed to supporting the self-care agenda in the UK," Nick Linton, head of UK country operations, commented.
"Making healthcare as simple as it should be to bring health and wellbeing to all is a key priority for us in 2024 and beyond. Our new wholesale model reflects our
deep commitment to working as efficiently as possible in close partnership with pharmacists to shape a healthier future."
Alex Potter is the new Managing Director of PharmAssist Solutions UK, an online purchasing solution utilised by over 1,100 community pharmacies. Potter,
previously the Director of Digital at Phoenix UK, will succeed the current MD, Amar Randhawa, and has expertise in the digital landscape across the industry,
PharmAssist Solutions said in a statement.
"We are delighted to have Alex on board," said Stuart Lucas, Chair of the PharmAssist Board. "His profound grasp of the pharmacy sector, combined with his
expertise in digital innovation, will spearhead PharmAssist's evolution to meet the dynamic demands of its clientele."
Meanwhile, Lucas expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Amar for his hard work and dedication over the last decade. "Amar, as the founder of PharmAssist,
played a pivotal role in achieving numerous significant milestones and driving its growth," he added. "We wish him every success in his future endeavors."
A winter NHS crisis is inevitable unless the government acts now to reverse the worrying decline in community pharmacies. Years of government underfunding could
see 3,000 pharmacies in England - around a third of the network - having no option but to shut their doors to patients in the next few years.
That figure is based on independent assessments from Ernst & Young and UCL/LSE healthcare professors: it is not scaremongering - it is the reality the country faces.
Fifty per cent of pharmacies are already in financial distress because government funding has been falling in real terms since 2019 and that figure is predicted to
rise to 75 per cent within the next two years.
The government needs to act now and invest in pharmacy or sleepwalk into a healthcare disaster as we have seen with access to dentistry care. Prescription volumes
have risen consistently year-on-year by roughly 2 per cent which means fewer pharmacies doing more work and under greater pressure than a decade ago. Ten years ago
around 11,200 pharmacies in England were dispensing roughly 79,000 prescriptions; nowadays around 11,500 are dispensing roughly 89,000 prescriptions.
The secretary of state recently asked pharmacy to do more to avoid a winter NHS crisis and at the same time said there will be no new money to pay for those
additional services. This at a time when the network is in decline with random unplanned pharmacy closures - 640 closures since 2016 - and pharmacy staff face huge
workload pressures as prescription demand is increasing year-on-year. The government's approach to pharmacy literally does not add up: the pharmacy contract is not
fit-for-purpose now let alone dealing with a NHS winter crisis.
The trade bodies and four largest pharmacy chains in England, have jointly written to the Secretary of State for Health, Steve Barclay, warning that the sector
needs urgent investment for sustainability.
The letter from AIMp, CCA, NPA, PSNC, Boots UK, Lloyds Pharmacy, Well, and Phoenix UK, warned that the 30 per cent real terms funding cuts that pharmacies have faced
over the past seven years have left many businesses in a cashflow crisis.
The letter said that the government is facing a choice over the future of the country's 11,000+ community pharmacies, with permanent closures likely and medicines
supply at risk if no urgent action is taken.
"If the funding situation is not addressed, the sector is likely to move rapidly towards many permanent closures of pharmacies."
The organisations say that once these closures start, they will be hard to stop, as the sector is now so fragile other pharmacies would struggle to pick up the slack.
Lloyds Pharmacy's closure of all its 1,300 branches will wake-up the ministers and NHS officials to the reality of community pharmacy sector in England has
reached crisis point, expressed Nigel Swift Managing Director of Rowlands pharmacy and Deputy Managing Director of PHOENIX UK.
On Friday, The SUN reported that the UK's second largest pharmacy provider - is allegedly in the process of selling its entire estate of 1300 branches. Lloyds
Pharmacy will no longer be a High Street presence following its decision to put all its pharmacy branches at the risk of closure. In January it has announced to
close its 237 Sainsbury-based pharmacies.
Nigel highlighted the fact that community pharmacy is struggling due to insufficient government funding and immense pressures on GPs and A&E departments - an ongoing
issue which poses a very real threat to the sector.
Commenting on the announcement, he said: "It's not just Lloyds - an independent analysis by Ernst & Young estimated that 75% of community pharmacies will be in
financial distress in the coming years. £750 million has been taken out of the English contract due to inflation since it began."