Duality Healthcare last week (November 19) announced a “landmark partnership” with Gordons Chemists to offer private face-to-face and virtual GP services in a number of the pharmacy’s Northern Ireland premises.
The partnership will see Duality’s GP team working across Gordons Chemists locations to provide “integrated medical services” with “same-day appointments, virtual consultations and direct referral pathways”, it revealed .
Combining the “strengths of both organisations”, patients will “benefit from a seamless locally accessible health service” that is “tailored to modern needs”, it added.
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The hubs will allow patients to have “private virtual consultations” with a Duality clinician, it said, noting that prescriptions will be “instantly available for collection” at the pharmacy branches.
According to Duality, this collaboration between a pharmacy chain and a private healthcare provider is “the first of its kind” in Northern Ireland.
“Virtual GP hubs”
The first Duality “GP clinic” to open in a Gordons Chemists – which has 55 branches in Northern Ireland – will launch with a “full range of face-to-face GP services” in Derry/Londonderry at the start of December, Duality said.
The private provider will also open “virtual GP hubs” in four other Gordons Chemists locations as part of the “first phase” of the rollout, it added.
And it noted that “even more locations” are expected to be added to the service in 2026.
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Gordons Chemists chief executive John Kernohan said that the partnership allows the chain to “further expand [its] commitment to community wellbeing”.
By pairing Gordons Chemists’ “pharmacy expertise” with Duality’s “innovative GP provision”, it can “deliver a unique, connected and comprehensive healthcare experience that helps to reduce barriers to care, shorten waiting times and ensure [patients] receive the support they need”, he added.
“Hybrid healthcare model”
Duality Healthcare chief executive John McEvoy said that he is “delighted” to bring the “hybrid healthcare model to more patients than ever before”.
The partnership “marks a major step in bridging community pharmacy and primary care through innovation and collaboration”, he added.
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It comes after Gordons Chemist was forced to scrap free prescription delivery across its Northern Irish branches at the end of last year due to underfunding and rising costs.
It told C+D last November that the chain did not have enough funds “coming in” to justify the continuation of free delivery, noting that a £72 annual prescription fee would be introduced in all 55 branches from January.
