‘Business as usual’ at Combe Martin pharmacy

It will be business as usual for Combe Martin pharmacy from next week, the new owner has said.

The popular village business has been sold by Boots UK to Jhoots Pharmacy, which operates a chain of pharmacies around the country.

In a statement for the North Devon Gazette, Jhoots has confirmed the pharmacy will be open from this Monday (April 22) as normal.

There had been concern amongst residents they might lose their pharmacy or be unable to collect medication after several Facebook posts has suggested the pharmacy would not be reopening immediately following the sale.

Some said they had been told to collect their repeat prescriptions and take them back to the GP surgery for reissue to another pharmacy.

But David Lasseter, operations manager for Jhoots, has moved to calm those fears, after the Gazette approached the company for a statement.

Mr Lasseter said: “Our first day of trading will be April 22. There may be some disruption for the first couple of days whilst the new computer systems are set up and we catch up on preparing patients prescriptions that legally must be prepared by ourselves before dispensing.

“We will not be closing the pharmacy and patients will be able to access their medication as they normally would.

“We are pleased to acquire the pharmacy and are excited to be able to contribute to the Combe Martin community.

“Our customers are at the heart of our business and we strive to provide the best possible customer service to everyone.

“Any patients who are currently signed up to boots will have their prescriptions transferred to us and they will be able to order and collect their medication in the same way that they do currently.”

Boots UK said it did not wish to make a statement but did confirm the sale of the pharmacy to Jhoots and said there would be ‘no gap in pharmacy provision for the local community’.

Jhoots Pharmacy is West Midlands based business that has pharmacy branches around the country, with many located in the Midlands, Bristol and Somerset areas. It says it operates an ‘award winning independent, community pharmacy chain’.