START SMALL. START BOLD. JUST START.
The clearest message from the NI Pharmacy Brunch was simple: the biggest risk isn’t choosing the wrong service - it’s waiting too long to start.
By Lynette Roberts
I
moderated two panel sessions - one with pharmacy solution providers, another with contractors who’ve successfully introduced
new services. The conversations were honest, practical and full of insights about what it takes to grow a service-led community pharmacy business.
Here’s what I learned from the panellists about starting new pharmacy services.
Choosing the Right Service: Listen First
Pharmacies thriving with new services begin by listening - to patients, teams and their communities.
Patients are already asking for weight management, earwax removal, blood testing, women’s health and travel vaccinations - so tune in to what your patients want.
Jonathan Burton MBE shared his motivation for starting new services: “In the beginning it was about professional satisfaction - wanting to do more for patients - but there was also strong demand. Flu vaccination was our starting point and once people trusted us there, they came back for other services.”
Siobhan McNulty’s motivation was business sustainability. She said, “You can’t look after patients if you don’t have a sustainable business. Post-COVID, something changed in how people wanted to access care and we had to adapt.”
Her advice? “Don’t wait. Start small. Pick one service that fits your community and build from there.”
Top Tips for Choosing a New Service • Ask patients what they actually want. • Start with one high-impact, low-risk service. • Match your offer to local needs and data.
Enabling Your Team: Services Are a Team Sport Teamwork was a key theme. Successful pharmacies free pharmacists to focus on clinical care by empowering their staff.
Archie Younger explained, “I don’t want to run everything myself. I want my team to use the technology, deliver the services and feel proud of what they do. That’s what keeps them here for the next ten years.”
Siobhan warned, “Don’t make one person the bingo bus - the one who knows everything. If they win the lotto, you’re in trouble.”
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pharmacyinfocus.co.uk
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