Boots unveiled plans last month to transform its pharmacy offering, including a free online prescription service via the Boots app and website, “express” collection lanes in 600 branches and a secure prescription locker trial in some of its pharmacies.

In an exclusive interview with Boots' pharmacy director Richard Bradley last week, he told C+D: “There's a reason we’re calling it a locker trial.

“That’s because we have not done it before, but we think fast and easy pick up is right for a certain cohort of the patient population,” he said.

Boots will evaluate the trial before deciding whether to introduce lockers into further branches, Mr Bradley added.

The multiple told C+D it has already introduced the lockers in two pharmacies in Manchester and Thornaby-on-Tees and will be launching another locker in one store in Covent Garden, London, this month. Installations in Sheffield Meadowhall and a branch in Cambridge will follow in August.

How does the locker system work?

After an initial sign up to the service, the customer receives a text message with a unique PIN code when their repeat prescription is ready to be collected. The customer needs to enter the code and their date of birth to open the locker and must collect the prescription within four days, to prevent spoilage, Boots explained.

The model is adapted from one used in 400 Boots stores across the Netherlands, the multiple added. Certain medicines are excluded from the service – including controlled drugs and medicines requiring temperature control.

Find out what Boots’ transformation plans mean for stores and staff in C+D’s exclusive interview with Mr Bradley and director of pharmacy items Stephen Watkins.