The merger aims to help PharmaDoctor “improve the way it delivers medical services” to the 8,000 pharmacies that subscribe to it, by providing 60 clinical services including men’s and women’s health checks, weight loss, travel, and hair loss treatment, Alitam revealed today (August 16).

This will give patients access to urgent care without an appointment in an effort to reduce waiting times for urgent and routine hospital treatments, it added.

Alitam founder and CEO Feisal Nahaboo labelled the deal the “most exciting and best merger of all” and “an industry game changer”.

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“We will be directly addressing the difficulty patients have in getting an urgent appointment with their GP, or at the local hospital, and substantially reducing the burden on primary healthcare as a result,” he said.

It follows a “strategic partnership” between the two companies earlier this year, allowing the Alitam group – which has over 100 branches across the UK and Ireland – to offer “walk-in, GP-type clinical services to address the chronic shortage of accessible healthcare within communities”.

Pharmacists “will be addressing the holistic needs of patients”

Bharti Patel – who joined Alitam in March as group executive director – will oversee the rollout of PharmaDoctor’s clinical services in pharmacies.

Meanwhile, Boots UK’s former head of pharmacy, Jamal Butt –  who joined Alitam in July –  and former head of Well Pharmacy Alice Hare will help support the “immediate rollout of Alitam pharmacy medical services to the UK”, the group revealed.

In a statement, Ms Patel said that the merger with PharmaDoctor will “truly leverage the abilities and skills of our pharmacists, enabling them to offer care beyond traditional prescription management”.

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They will “be addressing the holistic needs of patients, at a time when they have never needed this approach more”, she added.

“We are fully embracing all the tools PharmaDoctor has to offer, across both the electronic platforms and clinical skills training, so that we can urgently address the need for patients to receive face-to-face care,” Ms Patel said.

C+D understands that Alitam plans to announce a number of new strategic partners and mergers over the coming weeks.

In January, Mr Nahaboo unveiled an ambitious plan to create a chain of “super pharmacies” focusing on disease prevention and clinical services.

His £1 billion “Pharmacy of the Future” concept aims to bring together “a range of healthcare services under one roof” in 500 high street, “state-of-the-art wellness and medical centres” across the UK and Ireland.