Boots has opened its third outpatient dispensing service, which it says will "help the NHS become even more cost-effective".

The Boots pharmacy opened in the main entrance of East Surrey Hospital yesterday (October 17), and will aim to offer a "more flexible service" to outpatients, according to the health and beauty giant. Boots' own-brand retail products including No7, 17, Boots Pharmaceuticals and Botanics will also be available at the hospital.

The move comes after trade union Unite attacked the outsourcing of NHS outpatient dispensing services to community pharmacy companies earlier in the year, for failing to be "economically efficient".

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	But Boots, which already has outpatient dispensaries at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital and the Royal Derby Hospital, said it would help the NHS become more cost-effective. And the multiple hinted that the move may be part of a wider strategy, as it said there were "significant and exciting opportunities" to collaborate with hospitals.

"Looking forward, community pharmacy will need to expand from the traditional dispensing model to new ways in which pharmacy can add real value and improve the healthcare of patients," Boots director of pharmacy Peter Bainbridge told C+D.

Boots could offer patients a "seamless transition from secondary care to primary care" by working together with hospitals and ensuring pharmacies were located in places "patients want and need us most", he added.