Two years ago, I purchased two pharmacies from Boots. At the time, those branches were at risk of closure. For me, that was not simply a business opportunity – it was a responsibility.
If those pharmacies had closed, patients would have lost access to local care, staff would have faced uncertainty, and two communities would have been left with yet another gap in an already stretched healthcare system.
I knew the journey would not be easy, but I also knew that with the right values, the right people and a genuine focus on patients, those pharmacies could be rebuilt.
When we took over, the stores were in a very difficult position. There was a significant backlog, patients were frustrated, and the teams were under huge pressure. In one branch, we were left with only two members of staff, and in the other branch only one member of staff. The service needed urgent rebuilding from the ground up. Patients had become used to waiting up to two weeks for their medication, and confidence in the pharmacy had understandably been damaged.
At the same time, we were a new business, learning the realities of operating independently while managing supplier credit limits, stock challenges and the pressures that come with taking on pharmacies in need of a major turnaround. It was a baptism of fire. But from the beginning, our focus was clear: restore patient trust, protect jobs, support our teams, and build pharmacies that the community could depend on.
Family values underpin us
The company was named Mushtaq and Sons Healthcare Limited in honour of my late father. My father was my hero. During the Covid period, he suffered from long Covid and spent time in ICU, where doctors told us he might not survive. But he was a fighter. He carried discipline, humility and strong morals throughout his life, and he instilled those values in his children.
He was a family man, and for him, family always came first. I had been a partner in a pharmacy in Greater Manchester, but I returned home because I knew my father did not have long left. He had always wanted me to do well in business and in life, and I will never forget the smile on his face when we first opened the pharmacies. That memory will stay with me forever.
He passed away in January 2025, but his values remain at the heart of everything we do. Naming the company after him was my way of making sure his name, his sacrifices and his legacy continue. The same applies to my mother, whose blessings, strength and support have also been central to my journey. My parents came from a humble background, and I still remember being six years old and helping my father in his shop. Those early memories shaped me. They taught me the meaning of hard work, service and responsibility.
That is why, for me, pharmacy has never just been about dispensing medication. It is about people. It is about trust. It is about being present for patients when they are vulnerable, anxious or struggling to access care elsewhere.
My brother Saeed has been part of this journey from day one. His hard work, dedication and loyalty have meant a great deal to me personally and to the business. He has stood by my side through some very difficult decisions, often during times when the pressure was intense and the outcome was uncertain. Today, Saeed is our Deputy Lead and Logistics Manager, and he continues to work tirelessly behind the scenes to help the business grow. His role has been vital in strengthening our operations, improving organisation across the group, supporting stock control and helping make sure our teams have what they need to serve patients properly.
People make pharmacy
One of the most important decisions I made early on was to look again at the people already within the business. A good example is Charlie Shore, who had given 20 years of service to Boots. Although she was a qualified dispenser, she had worked mainly as a counter assistant. I saw far more in Charlie. I saw experience, loyalty, intelligence and leadership potential. I made her manager, and she has since become a vital part of our growth journey.
She is now our Regional Manager, and I am extremely grateful for her support, commitment and belief in the vision. She has stood by the business through difficult periods and has played a major role in helping rebuild standards, confidence and culture across the pharmacies.
From the beginning, I have believed that a pharmacy team is not just a workforce – it is a family. Our staff spend more time at work than they often do at home, so the environment we create matters. In every branch, we want our teams to feel valued, supported and part of something bigger than themselves. That family ethos has been central to our transformation. When staff feel respected and empowered, patients feel the difference. The care becomes more personal, the service becomes stronger, and the pharmacy becomes a place the community can truly rely on.
Our first steps as a business
Since taking on those first two pharmacies, we have worked hard to transform them. We focused on patient care, improving operational standards, rebuilding trust and making sure every part of the pharmacy was run properly. We introduced a free delivery service for housebound patients and elderly people who could not collect their medication. For many patients, especially the vulnerable, this was not simply a convenience – it was an essential service.
The transformation has been remarkable. Patients who were once waiting up to two weeks for medication are now often able to order their prescriptions and collect them the same day or next day. We have worked relentlessly to improve the speed, reliability and organisation of the service. That achievement is not just about efficiency; it is about restoring confidence and showing patients that their pharmacy can be trusted again.
We also worked hard to improve stock availability, manage supplier relationships and ensure patients were not left waiting unnecessarily. In the current pharmacy climate, where medicine shortages, funding pressures and rising costs are constant challenges, we understood that poor operations could quickly lead to financial stress and patient harm. Our aim was to build pharmacies that were clinically focused, operationally disciplined and genuinely patient-centred.
Over the past two years, we have created 10 new jobs, strengthened our teams and built a culture where staff are valued. I have always believed that my team is the engine of our expansion. Their dedication, hard work and loyalty do not go unnoticed. A business can have ambition, but without the right people, ambition means very little. Our growth has been possible because our teams have gone above and beyond for patients, often in very difficult circumstances.
Growth, but not for the sake of it
After two years of trading, we went on to acquire a further four pharmacies. That growth has shown that we are capable not only of saving and stabilising pharmacies, but also of turning them into stronger, more community-focused healthcare businesses. We are now on the verge of further acquisitions, and I believe we have the right team and structure in place to grow responsibly.
Expansion in the current community pharmacy climate is not easy. The sector is facing immense pressure. Costs are rising, margins are tight, workforce challenges are real, and many contractors are struggling. But I still believe deeply in the future of community pharmacy. Pharmacies remain one of the most accessible parts of the NHS. Patients can walk in without an appointment, seek advice, access services and speak to healthcare professionals who often know them personally.
The future of pharmacy must be built around services, access and trust. We need to continue moving beyond a purely dispensing-based model and maximise clinical services that support patients and relieve pressure on GPs, hospitals and the wider NHS. Community pharmacy has the potential to do so much more, but it needs fair funding, recognition and support from policymakers.
We are also now moving into a new phase of innovation. Our aim is to use better systems, stronger processes and new ways of working to deliver more patient-based services across our pharmacies. We want to make care easier to access, more efficient and more personal. Whether that is through improved prescription management, better delivery services, enhanced clinical services or new patient support pathways, our focus will remain the same: making sure patients receive the care they need, when they need it.
Our ambition is to continue growing, but not growth for the sake of it. We want to acquire pharmacies where we believe we can make a difference – protecting jobs, improving services and rebuilding patient confidence. We want to offer more patient-based services, create more employment opportunities and build stronger supplier relationships so stock issues become less of a barrier for patients.
For me, the journey has always been personal. I feel my father is looking down, and that it is his and my mother’s blessings that have allowed me to build so quickly in such a short period of time. Their names are part of the companies because I want their legacy to last. Every pharmacy we open, every job we create, every patient we help, and every community we serve is part of that legacy.
The last two years have been tough, emotional and demanding. But they have also been rewarding. We started with two pharmacies that may otherwise have closed. We inherited pressure, backlogs and uncertainty. Today, we have rebuilt those businesses, created jobs, expanded our group and developed a team that believes in going above and beyond.
That is what community pharmacy means to me. It is not just a business. It is service, sacrifice, family, legacy and care.
Mohammed Naheem is Director at Mushtaq and Sons Healthcare Limited, based in Dudley, West Midlands
