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Well Pharmacy chief executive Greg Pateras has said that from the public’s perspective the pharmacy sector has “almost stood still” since the 1980s. 

Speaking on a panel at last Thursday’s Company Chemists’ Association conference in central London, Mr Pateras said that as a newcomer to the sector he saw “phenomenal opportunity” but found the pace of change “slow”.

Mr Pateras joined the UK’s second largest pharmacy multiple exactly a year ago, having previously held senior positions at retail chains such as Matalan and Shop Direct.  

“I think about it through the eyes of a customer,” he told the CCA conference, adding: “It’s a sector that almost feels like it’s stood still.” 

“My experience of going into a pharmacy is quite nostalgic,” he said, going on to add that for him the “walk-in experience” is “broadly the same now” as when he was a young child 40 years ago.

“The pharmacy shop looks the same, the technology is broadly the same – I know the script goes over digitally now – the lollipops on the counter are exactly the same.

“From a customer point of view, I don’t feel like they’ve changed, and I come from a sector where change is fast and transformation happens quickly.” 

He contrasted pharmacy with the retail and financial services sectors he has previously worked in, which he said are now unrecognisable compared to 40 years ago.

A lack of adequate funding is the key barrier to progress, said Mr Pateras: “You look at the commercials of this sector and an independent review says there’s a £2.5bn deficit, and the latest funding proposal doesn’t really cover the costs of inflation.

“There’s problem number one. For businesses to thrive they need capital, they need to re-invest in technology. 

“This is quite a fragmented sector where the independents and small pharmacies rely on the technology advancements of the NHS – and the NHS has got its own problems.”

Mr Pateras urged the sector in England to look to Scotland and Wales, which he described as being “further on” in developing pharmacists’ professional capabilities through services like Pharmacy First.

And he said that rather than focus on internal disagreements, sector leaders should focus on the perspective of patients who “think they’ve won the lottery if they get a GP appointment” and consider how pharmacy can step in to make their lives easier. 

“We talk about silos [versus] collaboration – I see friction, because there are lots of bodies, lots of regulators, and lots of competing tensions,” he said.