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The National Pharmacy Association chief executive Henry Gregg has said he is concerned that reports of Jhoots Pharmacy branches across England failing patients risks damaging community pharmacy’s reputation and could imperil its ability to secure a good 2026-27 funding settlement.

Speaking at the Pharmacy Show, Gregg said he was “very concerned” to hear that some branches have operated without a pharmacist on the premises for long periods and closed with little warning, leaving patients without their medicines.

The Labour MP Sadik Al-Hassan recently met with Jhoots’ senior management to discuss the issue and the cabinet minister Heidi Alexander was also due to meet the company. 

During their meeting, Al-Hassan, who insisted he refused Jhoots’ request for support, said they “attributed their current operational and financial difficulties to the acquisition of 70 Lloyds pharmacies in 2023” and “claimed unresolved issues from Lloyds had led to significant losses and a liquidity crisis”.

When asked if he was concerned widespread problems with Jhoots Pharmacy branches risked hindering Community Pharmacy England’s next round of talks with the government, which the negotiator’s chief executive Janet Morrison said would not start before November, Gregg said: “With regards to Jhoots, it is concerning.

“One of the interesting things about community pharmacy is if your competitor goes out of business, it’s a good thing. But it can also be disastrous.”

He said Jhoots’ failure to supply medicines to patients had heaped more pressure on NPA members who have been left to pick up the pieces.

“Not only have we been managing a lot of media questions, we’ve also been supporting some of our members who have to pick up all the people who can’t get prescriptions if another pharmacy isn’t open,” he said.

“So, yes, it is very concerning and I don’t think it is helping the reputation of the sector. It’s really important at this critical moment, we are following our obligations that we’re doing what we need to do and that we’re not giving more fire to any of our opponents.

“We’re doing a lot of work on it and we really hope the situation resolves itself.”

I will meet with BMA to discuss Pharmacy First letter

Gregg also said he has meetings with the British Medical Association and Royal College of General Practitioners planned to discuss the letter sent by two senior BMA members last week which urged practices to divert patients away from Pharmacy First. The BMA denied it had anything to do with the letter.

“We need to sit down and work with them to say ‘actually, what we don’t want is patients either confused because they can go to multiple different places’ or actually, ‘we’re competing for those patients,’” Gregg said.