Former Lloyds Pharmacy in Cumnock reopens as Rowlands Store

The new branch will be run by Pharmacy manager Meghan Mcewan and a team of colleagues from the local community

Numark Pharmacy is hosting an event today (December 4) to mark the takeover of one of the former Lloyds Pharmacy stores in Cumnock, Scotland.

It has renamed the acquired pharmacy on Tanyard as Rowlands Pharmacy Cumnock HC, which will be reopened to the community on Monday.

Rowlands Pharmacy Cumnock HC, which is the latest to reopen in Scotland, will be run by Pharmacy manager Meghan Mcewan, supported by a team of colleagues from the local community.

At the new branch, the team will oversee prescription dispensary, vaccination services, over-the-counter medications, emergency contraception, and medication review.

Local resident Dale Watson will be joining Meghan and her team in cutting the ribbon at the Community Open Day, which begins at 10am.

“We can’t wait to open our doors to the community in Cumnock. It’s set to be a special day and having Dale join us will make it a morning to remember,” Meghan told Cumnock Chronicle.

“It will be great to chat to customers and celebrate community pharmacy and its importance to those who live in Cumnock,” she added.

Another former Lloyds Pharmacy store on Townhead Street is now being run as Cumnock Pharmacy.

Hallo Healthcare Group, which owns the pharmaceutical chain, announced the exit of Lloyds Pharmacy from the high street last month.

Lloyds Pharmacy, which was once the second-largest community pharmacy chain in the UK, has successfully sold or closed all of its community pharmacies.

In a statement released on 23 November, the group, however, stated that 99 per cent of the Lloyds Pharmacy branches it had previously operated would remain open under different ownership.

Reacting on the news of Lloydspharmacy's departure from the community pharmacy market, Janet Morrison, CEO of Community Pharmacy England (CPE), earlier stated that it "reflect the brutal reality in community pharmacies as financial and operational pressures continue to take their toll.”

Janet added that the recently announced £645m recovery plan funding is "not a panacea for all the issues” the sector faces.

She underscored the sector desperately need "increased and sustained support and investment" and that they will continue to press the government and the NHS to deliver this.