| Numark has announced the establishment of minimum standards for membership that are intended to raise the quality and performance of Numark pharmacies and make them the "community pharmacy of choice". The standards would be "self-regulated" by Numark members through a new regional liaison committee structure, and members who did not comply could expect to "part company" with the organisation.
The standards were announced by Mr David Wood (Numark's marketing director) in Penang on October 13. They represent "strategy one" of Numark's core objective for the next five years, which was "to be recognised as the leading provider of accessible, pharmacist-based health and personal care". Explaining the rationale behind the adoption of minimum standards, Mr Wood said that research carried out by Numark had identified a number of negative consumer perceptions of local pharmacies - so called "hygiene factors", or elements that consumers expected as the norm in retail environments but which were frequently deficient in pharmacies. |
David Wood: prepared to lose members |
These included hours of opening, inadequate provision of discreet areas for provision of advice, and perceptions that premises were often cluttered, that prices were high and that there was a limited choice of products.
These were the issues that Numark's standards would be tackling, said Mr Wood. Numark was not intending to consider professional issues. That was the job of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.
Pharmacies which did not help themselves to attain the minimum standards expected might have to part company with Numark. Mr Wood warned: "We are prepared to lose members, but, asking around, from what non-Numark pharmacists are saying, more people might want to join Numark if it has minimum standards. It is not about appearing tough and macho with the shareholders. We are not wanting marble palaces. We are just wanting the minimum standards that consumers expect."
Mr Wood said that when he and Mr Terry Norris (Numark's managing director) had toured Britain explaining the new strategy to members, none had been against it.
Mr Wood went on to introduce "strategy two" of Numark's core objective. That was about "differentiating the Numark service from other local and national providers". Strategy two encompassed approaches such as the "Your health, your choice" initiative on complementary treatments [see p687] and the "Numark, baby and you" initiative [see p686].