Rowlands Pharmacy has said it is determined to explore contracts “beyond community pharmacy” as it announced the acquisition of six new hospital pharmacy sites in Greater Manchester.

The newly announced contracts are for hospital pharmacies in the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. They will become part of the Rowlands business from December 1 this year, said the company’s speciality contracts manager Perveen Bhardwaj in a LinkedIn post yesterday (July 17). 

The newly acquired sites are:

• Manchester Royal Eye Hospital – Oxford Road Campus
• Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital – Oxford Road Campus
• North Manchester General Hospital
• Salford Royal Hospital
• Royal Oldham Hospital
• Wythenshawe Hospital.

Mr Bhardwaj said: “This achievement underscores our unwavering commitment to enhancing outpatient dispensaries nationwide and supporting millions of patients. 

“It also highlights our dedication to exploring speciality contracts beyond community pharmacy, reinforcing our devotion to pharmacy as a profession. 

“We are excited about the opportunity this provides for pharmacists and pharmacy colleagues to work in dynamic hospital outpatient dispensaries. These settings are perfect for honing clinical skills in a fast-paced environment.”

P3pharmacy understands that the sites were previously under LloydsPharmacy ownership, and that the new acquisitions take the total number of hospital pharmacies owned by Rowlands to 16. 

Speaking to P3pharmacy in January, Rowlands managing director Nigel Swift described how government funding cuts have led to the sale of over a hundred community pharmacy sites by the company, which lost £219m in the year to February 2023.   

Mr Swift said: “Across the board, people are exiting pharmacy. It’s almost impossible to make it pay under the current English contract.”