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Boots has welcomed job applications from LloydsPharmacy staff impacted by the news of closure of all its branches located in Sainsbury's before the end of 2023. The company is recruiting for more than 1,500 pharmacy roles nationwide. Vacancies span pharmacy roles at all levels - from Pharmacy Advisors (Dispensers) and Trainee Pharmacists to experienced Pharmacists looking to develop their careers. Sebastian James, Managing Director of Boots UK & ROI, said: "Pharmacies deliver vital healthcare in the heart of communities. News of the closure of LloydsPharmacy branches within Sainsbury's stores will no doubt have an impact on many talented pharmacists as well as their patients. "We have many roles available at Boots and welcome applications from LloydsPharmacy employees affected by the closures. Patients who are worried about their future pharmacy provision can check our store locator online to find out where their nearest Boots store is - our pharmacy team members are ready to help." There are over 2,200 Boots stores across the UK and 85% of the population live within 10 minutes of a Boots store.

The community pharmacy bodies, along with England's largest pharmacy chains, have urged the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak to resolve fund and workforce crisis in the sector. In the joint letter the Chief Executives of Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp), Company Chemists' Association (CCA), National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), along with Boots, Lloydspharmacy, Well and Rowlands Pharmacy, said they are pleased to see Government now recognising the key role that community pharmacy' could have in alleviating the strain on other NHS services. However, the associations also warn that although the sector is ready to support, 'this will not be possible unless pharmacy is properly funded.' Janet Morrison, PSNC Chief Executive, said: "The Prime Minister should also know that community pharmacies are also facing a crisis. They need sustainable investment, urgently, if we are to avoid devasting consequences for pharmacies and for their patients." The letter calls on Government to help pharmacy to resolve the funding, workforce and capacity issues engulfing the sector. It said: "Community pharmacies are in crisis and after 7 years of 30% funding cuts have reached their limit."

Pharmacy Minister, Will Quince received flu vaccination and blood pressure check at his visit to a Boots pharmacy in Westminster arranged by the Company Chemists' Association (CCA). The Boots pharmacist, Flavia, explained to the Minister the broad range of services the pharmacy delivers, from the new medicines service to emergency contraception and the community pharmacy consultation service. The Minister witnessed first-hand much of what the community pharmacy sector has to offer patients and the NHS. Malcolm Harrison Chief Executive of the CCA said: "We share the Minister's vision on how community pharmacies and their teams can contribute to the 'Plan for Patients' set out by the Secretary of State. It is great to have the support of the Minister and we are excited for the future of pharmacy.

Boots has become the first community pharmacy in the UK to transport prescription medicines by a drone. The pharmacy multiple completed a test flight transporting prescription-only medicines by drone from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight earlier this month. The flight departed from the British Army's Baker Barracks on Thorney Island near Portsmouth and arrived at St. Mary's Hospital on the Isle of Wight. The medicines were collected by Boots personnel and transported to the multiple's pharmacies across the island, where they will be dispensed to patients with prescriptions for them. Boots worked with medical drone start-up Apian to facilitate the test flight and is now assessing the future potential for drones in medicines delivery. Rich Corbridge, chief information officer at Boots, said: "Drones have a huge potential in the delivery of medicines and it is incredibly exciting to be the first community pharmacy in the UK to transport them in this way. An island location like the Isle of Wight seemed like a sensible place to start a trial of drones and their value to the delivery of medicines to more remote locations is very clear.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, the American owner of Boots UK, could risk losing billions after a private equity firm interested in buying its UK high street pharmacy chain valued the retailer at a steep discount, The Telegraph reported on Monday (April 11). "Buyout funds CVC and Bain indicated that they were willing to pay just £4bn for the business," the newspaper said, adding that "the consortium bowed out of the running" in March. The US retail giant Walgreens, which acquired Boots in 2014 for £9bn, has put a £7bn price tag on the UK pharmacy retail chain after selling its wholesale arm, Alliance Healthcare, last year. Citing city sources, the newspaper said the low valuation of the pharmacy multiple was "significant" because CVC's UK operations were led by Dominic Murphy, a Walgreens board member involved with Boots for 15 years. "He (Murphy) knows where the bodies are buried," the newspaper quoted one City source as stating. A spokesperson for Boots confirmed that CVC and Bain never lodged a formal offer for the company.

The parent company of Boots, Britain's largest pharmacy-led health and beauty chain, is reportedly considering putting its UK pharmacies up for sale next year for an estimated £10 billion. Walgreen Boots Alliance (WBA), the US health group that owns a stake in Boots UK since 2012, is lining up Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale next year, as reported by Sky News. When contacted by Pharmacy Business, WBA said that it would not comment on "market speculation", noting that "Boots is an important part of the Group." The company, however, acknowledged that "it is accurate that WBA announced a renewed set of priorities and strategic direction for the Group in October, which includes a more pointed focus on North America and on healthcare."

The Pharmacists' Defence Association has called on the Scottish government to end unnecessary pharmacy closures and introduce emergency regulations to force companies that operate Scotland's pharmacies to open on the days and hours they have agreed. It is concerned that decisions made by some health boards in Scotland have now allowed pharmacy owners to close their pharmacies on Saturdays. The PDA is worried that a pharmacy closure could have negative impact on patients and other parts of the NHS, including neighbouring pharmacies, addiction and mental health services, and minor injury and A&E units. The association claims that there are record numbers of registered pharmacists who are available to work and therefore a decision to close a pharmacy over staff shortages is misleading. "The business owners may claim there is a shortage of pharmacists, but when they actively cancel agreed hours of work it does not suggest there is a shortfall of workers," said the PDA, adding: "These business decisions often include closing their pharmacies at very short notice, even when pharmacists are available and willing to work."

YouGov polling commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has revealed that majority of the people responding to the poll said that they would be concern by the pharmacy closure in their locality. The results show the extent of the public backing for a Pharmacy First approach - PSNC has been arguing that a fully-funded service would be beneficial for pharmacies, patients and the wider NHS. The poll witnessed 1,774 adults' participation from England. It showed 68 per cent of people agree that they would find it easier to seek health advice for common conditions, such as skin conditions or indigestion, at a community pharmacy rather than a GP surgery. Only 11 per cent disagreed that this would be easier. While 75 per cent of people agree that they would like to see community pharmacies offering more healthcare services such as treating urinary tract infections or sore throats. Only 6 per cent strongly disagreed with this. When asked how important, if at all, are the services provided by community pharmacies to them, their family, or community, 78 per cent indicted this was very important. Only 14 per cent said this wasn't important. 77 per cent said they would be very concerned if the pharmacy they use most often were to close permanently. Only 19 per cent said they would not be very concerned.

Boots UK is set to start recruiting for a new superintendent pharmacist as Marc Donovan moved into a new role. The company announced the appointment of Anne Higgins as the new pharmacy director for Boots UK. A Boots veteran for 25 years, she has been in the role of director for stores for more than two years since starting her journey as a pre-register pharmacist in July 1997. Marc Donovan will be moving into the new role of director of healthcare development and public affairs for Boots. Earlier this year Donovan was appointed the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to pharmacy" in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Donovan and Higgins will be reporting to Jamie Kerruish, the director of healthcare at Boots UK. A Boots spokesperson told Pharmacy Business: "We will be recruiting for a new superintendent pharmacist and once this appointment is made, Marc will hand over his superintendent responsibilities"

Trainee pharmacists at Boots in England and Northern Ireland will get a pay increase from 1st August. The new pay rates agreed between the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) Union and Boots was announced on Tuesday (4 July). The joint statement released by Boots and PDA Union said: "Following discussions, we are pleased to announce that there will be a pay increase for Trainee Pharmacists, in England and Northern Ireland, commencing in role this summer." Trainee Pharmacists working in Boots Pharmacies in Wales are employed directly by the NHS and are therefore outside the scope of the pay negotiations between Boots and the PDA Union. Funding for each Boots Trainee Pharmacist in Scotland is at a higher level and Boots continues to pass on the fully funded amount as salary to those team members

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Tuesday (June 28) scrapped the plan to sell its UK high street pharmacy chain saying no third party was able to make an adequate offer due to the turmoil in global financial markets. Walgreens' move to call off the sale comes as private equity bidders Apollo Global and TDR faced headwinds in raising financing for the deal, as banks were wary of underwriting large chunks of the financing due to tough market conditions. Boots was initially valued at as much as £8bn with the auction process being led by Goldman Sachs. Global economic uncertainty and rising inflation have triggered a spike in interest rates as central banks have rushed to take action in the most widespread tightening of monetary policy for more than two decades, making deal financing costlier and harder to access. Walgreens had put its Boots UK business up for sale after announcing a strategic review in January as the second-largest US pharmacy chain renewed its focus on domestic healthcare. The company said the decision to retain Boots and No7 Beauty Company was also underpinned by their ongoing strong performance.

Boots witnessed a 'record-breaking' performance for beauty driving retail sales with a growth of 16 per cent in the three months to 28 February 2023. The beauty category delivered a record January, and premium beauty saw its biggest ever sales week in December. Skincare reported three consecutive weeks of record sales in December driven by the 'expert skincare' category in which brands including No7, La Roche-Posay, CeraVe and Eucerin proved popular. Boots beauty transformation strategy continued with 19 new beauty halls opened in Q2 and the 170th store to receive a beauty makeover opening at Westfield White City post-period end. Boots now stocks over 500 big name and cult beauty brands and exclusively sells the UK's leading skincare brand, No7. The business reported its eighth consecutive quarter of market share growth with gains across all categories, led by beauty - the stand-out performer of the quarter. Footfall, basket size and the number of Advantage Card customers all increased, as more people chose to shop at Boots. The Christmas period was particularly strong with retail sales in the five weeks to 31 December up 17.4% and outperforming the market. Boots further expanded its value offering in the quarter, announcing its biggest ever savings as part of its continued focus on the affordability of life's essentials. This included the addition of 60 new products to the Boots Everyday label as well as the extension of its Price Advantage scheme, which has to date resulted in £30 million of customer savings and now includes discounts on over 800 products every month.

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.

Boots is reportedly closing another branch in Watton, Norfolk from January, after shutting its High Street branch in Gorleston last month. The Boots store would be one of the four pharmacies expected to be closed next year in the county, which saw closures of six pharmacies in recent months, according to a BBC report. However, the retailer hasn't made any announcement regarding the Watton closure or commented on its decision to shut its Gorleston branch. If the Boots' branch in Watton is closed, the town will be left with only one pharmacy to cater to the healthcare needs of a population of about 12,000, and this is the concern people in the area have expressed. Conservative councillor Tina Kiddell told BBC: "I do worry how they are going to cope, they're already incredibly overwhelmed now."

Boots UK in association with Macmillan Cancer Support and the NHS has launched a Palliative Care Service in its pharmacies to provide easy access to vital medicines and specialist pharmacist advice and support to patients. As part of the new service, Boots has created a list of recommended medicines most used by terminally ill patients. It has committed to maintain stock of these medicines, or formulary, at over 2,000 of its pharmacies with an NHS contract. To further support the launch of the new service, all 4,200 Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacists (BMIP) have received additional training on palliative care, including a range of cancer-related advice and side effects of medication. Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist at Boots said: "Discussing end-of-life care is never easy, but it is very important. At this extremely difficult time for patients and their families and carers, ease of access to medicines and support can make a big difference.

Boots has partnered with Uber Eats to deliver beauty essentials and healthcare products to customers' doors in 30 minutes. Medicines for minor ailments such as coughs, colds, hay fever, mild pain, rashes as well as COVID-19 test kits can be ordered through Uber Eats. Boots is partnering with the doorstep delivery company with a pilot in 14 of its stores around the UK, with 13 of those stores giving customers within range access to third-party doorstep delivery of Boots products for the very first time. Uber Eats customers within range of participating Boots stores can choose from more than 900 products available for delivery straight to their homes or workplace, including toiletries, medicines for minor ailments, food and drink options, and best-selling beauty and gifting options perfect for a last-minute gift or treat. Paula Bobbett, Chief Digital Officer at Boots said: "We are hugely excited to be launching our partnership with Uber Eats. As the first health and beauty retailer on its platform, we can offer an extensive range of product options to customers for delivery straight to their door. Whether it's medicines for mild illnesses or last-minute gifts, beauty items or top-ups of a favourite skincare brand, we can meet all our customers' needs both quickly and conveniently."

More than 1000 pharmacies in England, including Boots stores, are now delivering the newly launched NHS Pharmacy First Service. Launched on Wednesday (31 January), the new service enables pharmacists to provide advice and treatment, if appropriate, for seven common conditions, which include sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, or an uncomplicated urinary tract infection in women. Instead of going to a GP surgery, patients can go to their community pharmacists to get treatment for these common conditions, without the need for an appointment. Patients who may need additional support will be referred to a GP or another healthcare provider by the pharmacist. Seb James, managing director of Boots UK and ROI, has described their launch of Pharmacy First service as "one of the most significant changes in how we can serve our customers and patients in our 175-year history."

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has announced that it will support its member impacted by the decision to close 300 more Boots pharmacies. After the announcement of closure of 300 Boots pharmacies over the next year, the association believes this is approximately one out of every eight current Boots pharmacy locations. The company has insisted that the objective of this exercise is not to make existing pharmacist employees redundant, and they hope to be able to redeploy individuals into nearby alternative locations. However, PDA believes that it is unlikely that suitable alternative roles will be available for all and redundancy is a possibility for some. The PDA Union will provide pharmacists with information, support, and representation as part of the recognition agreement so that members are aware of and can exercise their rights at work. PDA officials will be in continued dialogue with the company throughout this closure programme.

High street pharmacy giant Boots permanently shut down two more branches on Saturday (March 16) as it moves forward with its plan to close 300 stores. The Wrightson House branch at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Teesside and the Aslake Close pharmacy in Sprowston were closed for good, according to BirminghamLive. The pharmacy giant and chemist announced that all their prescriptions from its branch in Sprowston will be moved to Lawson Road Health Centre, with the nearest Boots branches located in London Street and Aylsham Road. The closure of the branch at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Teesside was confirmed to the public with a notice placed in the shop window, informing customers about nearby Boots stores to collect their prescriptions. The notice reads: "We are closing. This store will close, on March 16, 2024. Your nearest store for collecting prescriptions will be Thornaby Health Centre, Trenchard Avenue, TS17 OEE. Other stores nearby are: 12-14 High Street, Teesside Retail Park, Norton, TS20 1DN 21B Goodwood Square, TSI7 7BW."

Boots has shut down three more stores, as it moves forward with its plan to close 300 stores across the UK over the next 12 months. On Saturday (18 November), Boots closed its branches in Mudge Way, Plymouth; Mount Pleasant Road, Exeter; and Low Moor Road, Kirkby, Ashfield. The NHS issued a memo to shoppers and patients who use the Plymouth branch, which is located next to Plympton Health Centre, to inform them that "you will need to find and nominate another pharmacy to dispense your prescriptions going forward." Patients can set their nomination by contacting their new pharmacy and requesting "they do this for you." According to DevonLive, a note was attached to the Mount Pleasant pharmacy door that read: "Boots Mount Pleasant Store will close on Saturday, November 18 2023.