Hub and Spoke would mean we could locate dispensing offsite in one central location, so that staff in each of our branches can focus their time on providing patient facing services such as Pharmacy First, contraception services and blood pressure checks.
This would have benefits not just for our pharmacies and their patients, but for the wider NHS which is under significant pressure.
Under current legislation, implementing a hub-and-spoke model across our network has proven to be impossible.
Read more: Government set to ‘introduce’ hub-and-spoke legislation in 2025
Our group acquired the third highest number of ex-Lloyds pharmacy branches in the country. As a result, and due to terms of the sale, the vast majority of our branches have different legal entities. We operate under 30 different companies so it’s a massive struggle to implement hub and spoke, whereas traditional pharmacy multiples are quite easily able to do so.
Under current legislation, hub and spoke dispensing can only take place between pharmacy branches with the same legal entity. Following a detailed consultation process in 2023, secondary legislation to allow hub and spoke dispensing between pharmacies with different legal entities was supposed to be introduced in January 2025 but it was put on hold last year.
The Government has since confirmed it plans to introduce the new legislation this year, but information from Community Pharmacy England suggests it could be the end of 2025 before pharmacies like ours are able to take advantage of it. This simply isn’t good enough.
Hub and spoke isn’t a new concept. It’s a proven way of working that is already available to those pharmacies who are lucky enough to have branches in the same legal entity. Groups like ours are being prevented from putting in place this model of dispensing because of nothing more than a technicality.
Read more: Promised hub-and-spoke legislation delayed indefinitely
As a result, we don’t have the same opportunities as other pharmacy groups, and we are being disadvantaged. This two-tier system must be brought to an end sooner rather than later. It’s important for all pharmacy groups to be on a level playing field and have the same access to new ways of working.
The hub-and-spoke model is a transformative approach that allows for centralised dispensing while maintaining personalised patient care at local pharmacy sites. We have seen it working elsewhere so we know that this model has the potential to streamline our operations, improve cost efficiency, and ensure consistent standards of care across the sector.
Inadequate funding
The existing regulatory frameworks are creating significant barriers to realising these benefits at scale across the whole of the community pharmacy sector, which is already struggling due to a funding contract that has been inadequate for five years and has now expired.
Community pharmacy is under a lot of pressure, many of us are not able to meet basic consultation goals or deliver the basic numbers. Hub and spoke is one tool that could help free up time in store, so we are better able to meet these targets.
Read more: ‘Long overdue’ or too costly? Sector split over hub and spoke
We feel strongly about this issue due to the impact that the delay in legislation is having on our business in terms of preparing for the future. In light of these challenges we have been working closely with other key stakeholders, including MPs, to emphasise the urgency of legislative change.
We strongly advocate for the approval of the Model One concept for hub and spoke operations, which would allow all pharmacies regardless of ownership structure to collaborate and leverage this model effectively.
Model One would allow the hub pharmacy to assemble the medicine and send it back to the spoke pharmacy for the patient to collect – even if the hub and the spoke pharmacies have different legal entities. We know we would benefit hugely from this model, and we are not alone. There are many more pharmacies just like us who are being prevented from taking advantage of this opportunity.
The approval of this legislative reform is not merely an operational necessity; it is a pivotal step in modernising the pharmacy sector, ensuring sustainability, and enhancing the quality of care delivered to patients. We urge policymakers to prioritise this issue and act decisively to support the future of pharmacy services.
Safraz Shafqat and Qammar Nazir are managing directors at the Ascent Wellfield Group of pharmacies.