The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7242 p437
29 March 2003

This page
Reprint
Photocopy

PDF* 80K

  The new Charter
  Supermarket pharmacy
  Packaging
  Drug addiction
  Pharmacist prescribing
  Hospital pharmacy
  Prescription charges
  CPD

Letters to the Editor

Supermarket pharmacy

Proud to be a supermarket pharmacist

From Mr P. J. Banks, MRPharmS

I have read with growing annoyance the character assassinations by my fellow professionals in recent weeks and have decided that the time has come to put the record straight. I have been a supermarket pharmacist for the past six years. I chose this particular path because, unlike my colleagues in other sectors of community pharmacy who take responsibility for the non-pharmacy areas like shampoos and toiletries, I am allowed to concentrate on pharmacy services.

Quite apart from the image that has been portrayed in The Journal over the past few weeks the company I work for is committed to their patients, staff and pharmacists. In recent months my pharmacy has been involved in diabetic screening, a minor ailments scheme, medicines management campaigns and smoking cessation pilots, which have all taken place within my modern well-equipped pharmacy using a purpose-built consultation room. I have access to funding for locum cover to allow me to develop myself professionally, my pharmacy staff and my business. In recent months I have trained a preregistration trainee and I am currently in the process of helping my trainee dispenser through the NVQ level 3. The company also encourages and supports my participation in the local pharmacy development group and my membership of the local pharmaceutical committee.

In addition to all of this, the team of pharmacists in the pharmacy where I work serve around 2,000 customers a week, offering a full pharmaceutical service with clinical governance at its core for 78 hours a week.

From those critical of supermarket pharmacy who do not believe that I am worthy of my place as a member of the profession, I would like to know what is so terrible about the service which I offer to my customers and patients.

Philip Banks
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire

Local pharmacies will always be more accessible

From Mr R. W. Selfe,MRPharmS

I have never worked in a supermarket pharmacy but I think some comment is needed in reply to John Tapster's highly critical letter (PJ, 8 March, p332).

He appears to suggest that the proportion of all prescriptions which are sorted into the "miscellaneous doctors" category can be used as a criterion of customer loyalty and, by inference, whether or not a pharmacy is in a proper environment. Where does that leave those of us who, like myself, spent many years in areas like Central London, even in premises within station concourses, dealing almost entirely with passing commuter trade? There were, however, a few regular prescription customers and before the days of electronic records our memories had to be the only prompt if an unexpected change of treatment arose.

Mr Tapster is understandably nostalgic about his village practice where, no doubt, he could greet by name most of those approaching his counter and derive much satisfaction from his work, gaining the deserved appreciation of those he helped. But for every person who likes to linger for a friendly chat, how many are there waiting behind who just wish to be served and move on? I would suggest that supermarket customers mostly, but not always, fall into this category and it is perfectly proper and desirable that there should be pharmacists who choose to work in such an environment.

Despite worries about the Office of Fair Trading recommendation, a report from Mintel (PJ, 15 March, p360) says that a convenient location is the major factor in terms of where people buy health care products. Now being a full-time customer myself, I believe that for those on foot the local pharmacy will always be more accessible, and I fully agree with Geoff Laidlaw, (ibid, p365) that if the service offered there is so superior to that of supermarkets, then what is there to fear?

Reg Selfe
Benfleet, Essex

Failed by greedy generation of proprietors

From Mr C. R. Hackett, MRPharmS

I must respond to the letters of John Tapster (PJ, 8 March, p332) and Richard Johns (PJ, 22 March, p399). I find the arguments regarding pharmacists who work in supermarkets rude, insulting and ill-conceived.

The supermarket provides an excellent environment in which to practise pharmacy. I have been a supermarket pharmacy manager for two years and in that time have developed several initiatives. I have also obtained an oxygen contract and only the other night I was asked by the on-call doctor to deliver oxygen to a patient at 9pm. I would also deliver antibiotics to a child at night if asked to do so.

Members of Mr Johns and Mr Tapster's generation seem to want to have their cake and eat it. There were a lot more independents when they were first qualified, which people presumably took over from previous owners. However this chain was broken by the greed of the next generation of owners who sold their pharmacies to the multiples (who were able to pay more for them). Future independent pharmacists like myself were squeezed out of the market. These chains have now become so big that they are not able to maintain their NHS contracts. Surely opening up the market place will allow pharmacists to challenge these chains in certain localities on customer service grounds.

The real argument for pharmacy is with the Medicines Control Agency because of the number of products that are now on the general sale list, eg, Imodium, Calpol sachets, Nurofen, Colpermin and various nicotine replacement therapies. The relentless switch of medicines to GSL is the biggest drain on pharmacies' income and would prevent me seriously looking at setting up my own community pharmacy. I will stick to pursuing my career in supermarket pharmacy, which I enjoy, and wonder what might have happened if the previous generation of pharmacists had given us a chance at ownership.

Colin Hackett
Bristol

Send your letter to The Editor

Previous Topic (The new Charter)
Next Topic (Packaging)