We see a profession that is mature, highly skilled, and capable of independent growth, yet it remains tethered to a system that uses sweets and goodies, small, inconsistent incentives, to keep it hanging on.
Despite these offerings often lacking real substance, many pharmacy owners remain in a state of hopeful anticipation for a ‘big break’ that never comes.
This dependency has effectively paralysed the sector’s capacity for creative thinking and its drive toward self-sufficiency.
The dependency trap
Pharmacists employed by pharmacy owners possess the clinical expertise and entrepreneurial potential to launch private services that could generate significant revenue.
However, because of this systemic dependency, we remain trapped in a cycle where services are dictated by the NHS and the scope of practice is limited to what the government decides is a priority.
Fees are arbitrary. Payments are set by the NHS without sufficient consideration for the actual cost of delivery, professional time, or rising overheads.
Lottery
When a patient walks in with symptoms of a UTI or a sore throat, their care shouldn’t feel like a gamble based on shifting NHS criteria.
A prime example of this failure is the current NHS criteria for blood pressure checks. We are often forced to turn away patients who do not meet strict NHS eligibility, even when they are standing in our pharmacies asking for help.
How did we reach a point where we say ‘No’ to a patient because they don’t fit a government box, despite having all the resources available to help them?
As business owners, we have the power to decide our own value for certain services like blood pressure checks, whether that is £8, £10, or £15 for one private consultation, yet the dependency mindset prevents us from offering these options. We turn revenue away while the resources sit idle on our shelves.
Acumen
It is heartbreaking to see so many pharmacy owners struggling because they lack business ‘savvy’, and even more discouraging to see management teams with no aspirations for commercial growth.
The NHS ‘pie’ is not just being sliced thinner, it is exhausted.
For community pharmacy to survive, we must stop waiting for the parent to provide. Innovation and a shift toward a mixed-model of private and public service are no longer optional. They are essential for our survival.
Kindly,
A Locum Pharmacist