SHOPPERS will lose access to dozens of supermarket pharmacies next week.
Lloyds Pharmacy will permanently close 20 more of its chemists which are located in Sainsbury’s supermarkets on Tuesday.
GettySainsbury’s shoppers will lose access to 20 in-house Lloyds chemists next week[/caption]
The move comes after Lloyds Pharmacy announced that it would close 237 of its pharmacies in Sainsbury’s supermarkets by the end of 2023.
At the time a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Lloyds Pharmacy is withdrawing pharmacy services from our stores over the coming months.
“We will work with them to ensure customers are clear on how they can access an alternative pharmacy provision to meet their needs.”
Lloyds chemists located in the following Sainsbury’s supermarkets will shut permanently on Tuesday, June 13:
Aylesford, Quarry Wood Industrial EstateBrierley Hill, Amblecote SuperstoreBristol, Emersons Green SuperstoreCannock, Orbital Retail CentreCramlington, Manor Walks Shopping CentreDarlington, Victoria RoadEast Grinstead, Brooklands WayExeter, Alphington RoadExeter, Hill Barton RoadFareham, BroadcutIsle of Wight, NewportLondon, WalthamstowLoughborough, Greenclose LaneMorecambe, Christie Park, Lancaster RoadNewton Abbot, Penn InnOldbury, Freeth StreetPreston, Bamber BridgerSheffield, Archer RoadSudbury, Cornard RoadTunbridge Wells, Linden Park Road
Six more chemists will then close in the following Sainsbury’s supermarkets on June Thursday, June 22:
Blackheath, Halesowen StreetEdinburgh, MeadowbankLeicester, Glen RoadLiverpool, Rice LaneLoanhead, StraitonNewcastle, Heaton
It comes after six Lloyds chemists closed for good at Sainsbury’s supermarkets last week. These were located in:
Chesterfield, Rother WayDerby, Peak DriveManchester, FallowfieldSalford, Regent RoadWirral, Upton By PassManchester, Upton By Pass
But Sainsbury’s shoppers aren’t the only ones losing out to their local pharmacies in-store.
Asda announced a proposal to close seven of its 254 in-store pharmacies in January.
The supermarket said it would look to close these pharmacies because of low customer usage.
Asda has since told The Sun that all seven pharmacies will close on Thursday, August 3.
The closures will take place in Asda supermarkets in the following locations:
SouthamptonSeahamFelthamBlackburnAdelWest BradfordWeston-Super-Mar
Community pharmacies are essential for providing services to local neighbourhoods but hundreds have been shut in recent years.
Pharmacies across the UK have struggled for years due to cuts in government funding and the soaring cost of medicine.
Chemists are also being asked to pick up extra slack from the NHS by providing more services, such as vaccinations.
The pharmacy industry has lost £1.6billion in the last ten years as the health service’s pharmacy contract struggles to keep pace with inflation.
As a result, pharmacies are facing big cuts to their real-term funding, which is leading to the closures.
Pharmacy chain Boots also closed a string of its own stores in the spring – with more still to come.
Retailers in general have also been battling rising costs as inflation sends prices soaring and less demand among cash-strapped punters.
More companies in England and Wales went bankrupt in the first quarter of 2023 than at any point over the last three years, according to the Insolvency Service.