Opinion: Patients are our strongest advocates

At Pan Pharmacy we have a strong bond with our patients and communities and we matter to each other. Thousands of other pharmacies can say the same.

I’m a second-generation community pharmacist, running seven pharmacies in the West Midlands. Our business has been around for over 40 years and is still very much a family affair with my mum and wife playing an active part. Sadly, my father, who was a pharmacist, passed away during my pre-reg year and so I had to learn as I went on when I jumped into our family business in 2011/12.

Emotional connection

The emotional connection to the business is huge for me. It is not only the connection to my parents’ legacy but also the level of responsibility I feel towards my teams, some of whom have dedicated their working lives to us and also our local community and generations of families who we have cared for during so many years.

Every pharmacy owner is different, but the decision-making process for small independents can be very different to that of the larger corporates. I interact with patients on the ground regularly and it is hard to even consider changes to the business that may have detrimental implications for them – for example, charging for services we have offered as goodwill in the past such as blister pack dispensing and deliveries. 

This can be emotionally and ethically challenging for those of us with longstanding relationships with patients and families – some of whom will be elderly, housebound or have their own financial challenges in the current climate.

Rightly or wrongly, some of the decisions we make as independents aren’t clear cut and done purely on a commercial basis. Our emotional connection still plays a big part.

Cold reality

The cold reality is that our group is in the worst financial position since its inception with two to three years of consecutive annual losses. Cashflow has never been so tight month to month and we have to time things like VAT returns, staff wages, locum payments and supplier payments so carefully. We have also had to put personal money into the business to assist with cashflow.

My patients don’t know all the detail, but have a growing sense that pharmacies everywhere are struggling. That awareness is down to ceaseless campaigning by the NPA and other leaders, local and national – and by word of mouth in the community.

The petition can be signed online, while a paper version can be downloaded from the NPA.