5 Boots stores in Plymouth to close in new year, protest at Kingsteignton over pharmacy closure

Health leaders fear that the closure of these pharmacies will put extra burden on an already overloaded system

The pharmacy chain, which has already announced its plan to close 300 stores across the UK over the next 12 months, is closing five more branches in Plymouth in the new year.

According to a report in Plymouth Herald, Boots stores in St Budeaux, Mannamead and Claremont are to be closed in January, followed by Cattedown and St Judes outlets in March. A Boots Plympton pharmacy was shut down in November.

The region has also seen closure of some Lloyds pharmacies earlier this year as well as reductions in opening hours.

Health leaders have raised concern that closure of these pharmacies will put extra burden on an already overloaded system, with some pharmacies already struggling to meet prescription demands due to staff shortage.

Cllr Dr John Mahony (Con, Peverell) told the publication that most pharmacies were “pretty frantic” with not enough staff as many pharmacists many pharmacists had joined GPs’ teams

Meanwhile, residents in Kingsteignton are staging a protest against the planned closure of their town’s branch of Boots.

Mid-Devon Advertiser reported that half a dozen or more people protested outside the Boots store on Gestridge Road, carrying home-made placards that read ‘Save our pharmacy’; ‘Keep our pharmacy open.’

The branch is set to close in February of next year as there is another Boots store in close proximity, the one at Kingsteignton Retail Park.

These two stores are no more than two kilometres apart, and this explains the closure, the report added.

Boots plans to consolidate its portfolio of 2,200 stores to 1,900 by merging a number of stores in close proximity to each other.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported that Walgreens Boots Alliance is reviving talks  to offload its UK-based Boots pharmacy chain, and it is considering the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) in London.

People familiar with the matter told the publication that the drugstore chain could be valued at about £7 billion ($8.8 billion) in a deal, but deliberations are still at a preliminary stage and it’s not certain they will lead to a transaction.