By Harry McQuillan
Community pharmacy has always adapted to change, but the environment we are operating in now means we have to be even more considerate about how we run our business.
From April 2026, the increase in the National Living Wage will add further pressure to already tight finances. That makes efficiency not just desirable, it becomes essential. The pharmacies that will be strongest in the years ahead, I believe, are those that make best use of their people, their processes and the tools available to them.
Alongside this, we are beginning to see meaningful changes to supervision legislation, starting with the ability for a non-pharmacist to hand out a prescription in the absence of a registered pharmacist, with more reform expected later this year. These changes should be viewed as an opportunity. An opportunity to modernise how work flows through the pharmacy, while maintaining the high professional standards patients rightly expect.
A big part of that opportunity lies in effective delegation. Where tasks can be safely and appropriately carried out by a healthcare professional, we should be enabling that to happen. Doing so allows pharmacists to step away from technical processes that do not require their clinical input, and to focus more of their time on patient care, services and professional oversight.
Well-trained pharmacy technicians are, in my opinion, absolutely central to efficient, safe dispensing. At the same time, technology such as scanning solutions and hub and spoke dispensing can help reduce duplication, improve accuracy and remove unnecessary pressure from the dispensary.
Hub and spoke, in particular, has the potential to make a real difference when it is implemented thoughtfully and in a way that genuinely works for independents. The focus needs to be on finding ways to operate more efficiently without losing control or flexibility.
Of course, systems and technology only work if the right people are in place. One of the areas I am especially encouraged by within Numark has been the success of the apprenticeship model. Apprenticeships allow for learning on the job, developing real skills and building long-term careers in pharmacy, while also providing financial support to help contractors invest in their teams.
This approach strengthens recruitment, supports retention and helps create capable, confident pharmacy teams who understand their business and their community.
The direction of travel for community pharmacy is clear and it points firmly towards a more clinical, integrated landscape. It is about creating pharmacies that are sustainable, resilient and fit for the future, pharmacies where pharmacists are freed to focus on what they are trained to do, teams feel supported and developed, and patient care remains at the heart of everything.
(Harry McQuillan is chairman of Numark)
