Key Summary
- Allied Pharmacies opened a new branch at Jhoots site in Wellington, Somerset.
- The town with a population of over 16,500 currently has only two pharmacies.
- NHS Somerset ICB has approved a fourth pharmacy for the area.
Allied Pharmacies has opened a new branch at the former Jhoots site on Mantle Street in Wellington, Somerset, providing a huge relief to this pharmacy-starved town.
Wellington had recently witnessed two high-profile closures – Jhoots and a Boots branch at the town's medical centre in early 2024, which got impacted when the pharma retail giant decided to shut down 300 stores, BBC reports.
After these closures, Wellington, which has a population of more than 16,500 people, was left with just two pharmacies.
With the reopening of erstwhile Jhoots outlet and the granting of permission for a new pharmacy, Wellington will soon have four pharmacies.
NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board (ICB), which commissions pharmacies in Somerset, had last week granted permission to open the fourth pharmacy at Westpark 26 in Chelston.
Jasmine Butcher, operations director at Allied Pharmacies, said: "The pharmacies which have been open have done a fantastic job giving the patients what they need, but hopefully this is going to relieve a bit of pressure so us and the existing pharmacies can give 100 percent to the patients."
Roger Tozer, who set up the Wellington Pharmacy Action Group, told BBC Radio Somerset that a fifth pharmacy will also be needed to cope with the demand.
Allied Pharmacies has late last year acquired 129 outlets of Jhoots pharmacies, all owned by Sarbjit Jhooty and Nilam Patel, and it now owns around 300 stores.
Jhoots pharmacies had 153 stores registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council, and 21 belonged to Sarbjit’s brother Manjit Jhooty.
He later got his company rebranded JHL Pharmacy as the Jhoots controversy had caused damage to the brand name.
