Hannah Pike is
editor of Hospital Pharmacist and Retail Round-up
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Importance to local businesses
Dual ownership
Consultation
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What has been announced?
• The existing network of over 14,000 post offices
is unsustainable and is losing £4m per week
• 2,500 post offices are expected to close
• The Government has announced a strategy to preserve a national
post office network
• Post Office Ltd will be holding a series of local consultations
over the next six weeks to draw up plans for each area. Local people
will
be invited to give their views
• National access criteria must be met including that 99 per cent
of the population must be within three miles of a post office outlet
and
90 per cent within one mile |
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Almost one fifth of post offices are to close, it was announced last
week. According to Government figures about 1,600 post office branches
are now serving fewer than 20 customers per day and a strategic shake-up
is needed make the post office network financially viable.
The National
Pharmacy Association estimates that the new proposals will impinge
on pharmacies in 750 locations across the UK, some but not all in rural
areas. Importance to local businesses
Raj Nutan, pharmacy business manager at the NPA, says that research
has shown three businesses to be most important to the local economy.
These
are:
- a source of cash (often a post office)
- a health centre
- a
pharmacy
Other businesses are often built up around the underpinning
infrastructure of these core businesses, he says. In many cases, the
reduction in footfall that would come about if a post office were to
close would have a significant impact on other local businesses, including
pharmacies.
This is particularly true in rural areas where customers
may be forced to go into towns to access post office services, possibly
taking their prescriptions with them. “Pharmacies have already
got downward pressures on margins from large shopping centres, but
it is important that local shops prosper,” says Mr Nutan.
Pharmacies and other businesses may also deposit their weekly takings
at the post office, especially in areas where there is not a local bank.
Having to travel into town to a bank is inconvenient in terms of time
and could be more of a security risk. Dual ownership
According to the NPA, an estimated 113 members have a pharmacy with
a post office located in the same premises. Mr Nutan says that many of
these post offices are only able to stay open because of current Government
subsidies, but the increased footfall is highly beneficial to the pharmacy
business.
Daniel Agyeman, an independent pharmacist from West London, runs a
post office which is located in his store on the Fulham Road. “In this
area we have three post offices within a one-mile radius,” he explains, “So
it is likely that one will be closed.” He estimates that if his
post office were to close he could lose up to 50 per cent of his pharmacy
business, possibly to a competitor at the other end of the high street
which is located opposite another post office.
However, there is also the possibility that his prescription volumes
will increase, should one of the other post offices close. He describes
how efforts have been made to make both the pharmacy and post office
attractive and accessible to customers, including a recent refit which
includes installation of a “combi-counter” where customers
can access both services.
Mr Agyeman feels confident that his post office will survive, but says
that if it were to close he would consider setting up a chiropody or
physiotherapy service in its place. However, he added that it could take
several years to get such services well established.
Ajit Shah, an independent pharmacist from Whetstone, North London, owns
a pharmacy in a small parade of shops in a residential area. He is also
subpostmaster for the instore post office, which he says is almost certainly
threatened with closure. “They are looking to close all small post
offices, I don’t think they are being selective,” he says.
Mr Shah estimates that 250–300 people use his post office each
day, bringing a considerable volume of business into his pharmacy. Although
this may sound like a busy post office, Mr Shah explains that the Government
uses a points system to measure post office business, and people queuing
up to post parcels generate fewer points than those making business deposits,
for
example.
Mr Shah estimates that 75 per cent of his prescriptions are brought into
the pharmacy by pensioners who come to collect their pension at the instore
post office. If the post
office closes, these customers will have to use services on the high
street, which is a mile and a half away from the residential area, and
they will probably take their prescriptions into town with them.
Turning to how he could make his pharmacy business survive, Mr Shah says: “I
could offer any number of extra services as I will have the space available,
but how can I do that if I do not have the patients?”
He adds that his business is not the only one to be threatened. “The
entire parade relies on the two essential services — the pharmacy
and the post office,” he said. “If we go, everyone will suffer
and some will have to close.”
Mr Nutan says that he would encourage pharmacists to discuss any proposed
closures at their local retailers’ forum. In this case it is important
to work together with other businesses, rather than viewing them as competition,
he says. Consultation
Post Office Ltd is to hold a series of consultations on the proposals,
in 50–60 local areas. Each local area consultation will run for
six weeks. The changes are to be implemented over 18 months from this
summer, and local people will be invited to give their views. The NPA
says it would also like to see local businesses consulted on the proposed
closures. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal