ASDA has today announced the
purchase of 48 NHS pharmacy contracts from Alliance UniChem plc, ensuring that
almost a third of its stores from Edinburgh to Eastleigh will have access to chemists
run by the superstore.
Alliance UniChem’s
Moss retail division currently operates the pharmacy contracts, which are already
located within ASDA stores. All the contracts will transfer to ASDA by April
2001, joining the 24 pharmacies that it already runs and the additional four
it plans to open before the end of the year.
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All 463 Moss employees,
including their pharmacists, will become ASDA colleagues, ensuring a smooth
transition for patients. The deal, worth a total of £100m over the next
two years, covers both the acquisition of the NHS contracts and the supply of
healthcare products from UniChem to ASDA’s entire pharmacy chain.
The move provides a platform
for future pharmacy expansion, building on Wal-Mart’s experience as one
of the leading drug store operators in the US and the expected decision in the
UK to abandon price-fixing on over-the-counter medicines.
"Our goal is simple
– a dispensing pharmacy in every one of our stores to serve the shopping community.
Feedback from customers week-in, week-out tells us that this is the most valuable
complementary service we can offer them within our stores," said ASDA’s
health and beauty director Penny Coates.
Alliance UniChem’s
retail director Barry Andrews said: "This deal reflects Moss’ desire
to concentrate on its core activity of local community pharmacy. The government’s
‘Pharmacy in the Future’ strategy, launched by Lord Hunt last week,
highlights the benefits that will come from a more co-operative approach to
care being taken by GPs and local community pharmacists for their shared patients.
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"With targeted support
for repeat dispensing and medicines management programmes on the way, Moss’
continued expansion into community pharmacy locations will provide the right
platform to further strengthen our partnerships within local primary healthcare
teams and other stakeholders in primary care."
Over the next 12 months,
ASDA expects to recruit over 100 qualified pharmacists, allowing it to extend
pharmacy opening hours to reflect more closely the needs of shoppers. This will
help meet a government desire to see pharmacies offer services at times and
locations convenient to customers.
|
Moss Pharmacies |
Shoeburyness Wales Scotland Existing ASDA Pharmacy |
Grimsby Wales Scotland Others (28) ASDA has 240 stores |
