Pharmacy innovation in practice

LIPS Pharmacy Battersea: This innovative pharmacy-clinic model could be a glimpse into the future of pharmacy…

Most pharmacies understand that funding from the NHS contract does not cover their overheads and probably never will again. Hence pharmacy owners are increasingly developing a hybrid model with income streams based on over-the-counter ranges and private services.

A few have gone a step further and have a model which is totally based on private services funded by patients, companies and insurance delivered from premises that look very different to an average UK pharmacy. They utilise technology and have a skill-mix that reflects and supports this model with Independent Prescriber Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians delivering the services.

One such model is a pharmacy that opened in May 2024 on the top floor of Battersea Power Station – LIPS Pharmacy Battersea. The pharmacy opened as a totally private pharmacy and now operates alongside a CQC registered private health clinic with a multi-disciplinary team and two-way triage and referral in place. It operates 7-days a week with extended opening hours to match the Power Station shopping mall and increase access to healthcare whilst reducing pressures on the local health system.

The Director of Pharmacy and Superintendent Pharmacist is Daniella Fakhouri who leads the team including pharmacists Sammy Sutton and Bishoy Elwazan. LIPS Pharmacy Battersea is approaching the hybrid concept from the other direction. They have applied for an NHS contract to add to their private model to enable them to offer national and locally commissioned NHS services to eligible patients; this has not been a quick or easy process but hope to hear a successful outcome soon.

The patient experience was uppermost in their mind when working with the architect, shop fitting agency and consultants. It certainly has the wow factor and the team ethos is very health and patient-centred.

The private services that they currently offer include dispensing private prescriptions which are either initiated following a consultation by their independent prescribing pharmacists within their scope of competences, clinicians in the clinic or from external private prescribers. Using their two clinical consultation rooms, they also offer flu vaccination, health checks, weight management, travel health, otoscopy, skin health, and common ailment services. In addition, they carry an extensive range of healthcare treatments, supplements and skin care.

The team are constantly exploring opportunities to expand their range of services. Daniella confirms that we should never underestimate the amount of work it takes to plan, develop competences and processes, and then implement and deliver a new service safely, one which provides an excellent patient experience. An example of a recent innovation has been linking their weight management service to the fertility service run in the clinic for patients with an identified clinical need. The pharmacy has already been a finalist in two categories at the 2024 Pharmacy Business Awards.

Digital health and technology underpin the operation with the Titan dispensary management system and a clinical management system, also used in the clinic, to facilitate appointment bookings, unified record keeping using consultation templates, prescription writing, tests, audit and communication with patients and other health professionals. They reach their audience, around 30% of whom are international travellers without immediate access to healthcare, and those looking for an accessible one-stop solution, through their website, Healthpoint screens, social media, building relationships and advocacy.

This pharmacy-clinic model is the vision of Ibraheim El-Daly and Paul Culpan, both orthopaedic consultants and founders of London International Patient Services (LIPS). LIPS has been providing tertiary care services for nine years but wanted to develop an accessible end-to-end care solution for both UK and international patients. They are now based at the clinic adjacent to the pharmacy along with a growing clinical team, but also operate in hospitals across London while they build an ambulatory day case hospital in Battersea due to open in 2025.

Ibraheim sees other health professionals as partners, delivering services and an excellent patient experience by working collaboratively, not in silos. This includes Consultants, GPs, nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, dietitians and pharmacists. He describes pharmacists as a major asset – “a walking BNF with a personal touch” - and continues to learn so much from the LIPS Pharmacy team. This unique model, accessible in a shopping mall, is undoubtedly one that will continue to develop and be replicated.

Written by Michael Holden FRPharmS FRSPH

Associate Director, Pharmacy Complete