Major pharmacy chain to close 237 branches in supermarkets by TOMORROW – is your local affected?
A MAJOR pharmacy chain is set to close hundreds of branches located in supermarkets by tomorrow.
Lloyds Pharmacy will shut all of its 237 branches located in Sainsbury’s shops by the end of tomorrow, the supermarket has confirmed.
The chain previously announced that it would close these services by the end of 2023, but this has now been brought forward.
It means Sainsbury's supermarkets in towns and cities in places like Nottinghamshire, Kent and Surrey will lose the service.
A Sainsbury's spokesperson told The Sun: “At the start of this year LloydsPharmacy announced its decision to withdraw pharmacy services from Sainsbury’s stores.
"Since then, we have been working with them to ensure customers are clear on how they can access an alternative pharmacy provision to meet their needs."
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The supermarket added that it is finalising how it will fill the space left by the pharmacies, but this will vary from store to store.
In a statement, Lloyds Pharmacy told The Sun: “In January 2023 LloydsPharmacy announced the withdrawal of pharmacy services from all Sainsbury’s stores, to take place throughout 2023.
"It can now confirm that any remaining branches within the Sainsbury’s estate will close by June 13."
Lloyds, which has 1,300 branches, has already closed the doors on half a dozen branches this month.
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Pharmacies across the UK have struggled for years due to cuts in government funding and the soaring cost of medicine.
But Sainsbury's shoppers aren't the only ones losing out to their local pharmacies in-store.
Asda announced a proposal to close seven of its 254 in-store pharmacies in January.
Asda said it would look to close these pharmacies because of low customer usage.
The supermarket consulted on the move and confirmed the closures at the end of April but didn't say when the pharmacies would shut for good.
However, Asda has told The Sun that all seven pharmacies will close on Thursday, August 3.
The closures will take place in Asda supermarkets in the following locations:
- Southampton
- Seaham
- Feltham
- Blackburn
- Adel
- West Bradford
- Weston-Super-Mar
Community pharmacies are essential for providing services to local neighbourhoods but hundreds have been shut in recent years.
Pharmacies across the UK have struggled for years due to cuts in government funding and the soaring cost of medicine.
Chemists are also being asked to pick up extra slack from the NHS by providing more services, such as vaccinations.
The pharmacy industry has lost £1.6billion in the last ten years as the health service's pharmacy contract struggles to keep pace with inflation.
As a result, pharmacies are facing big cuts to their real-term funding, which is leading to the closures.
Pharmacy chain Boots also closed a string of its own stores in the spring - with more still to come.
Retailers in general have also been battling rising costs as inflation sends prices soaring and less demand among cash-strapped punters.
More companies in England and Wales went bankrupt in the first quarter of 2023 than at any point over the last three years, according to the Insolvency Service.
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Below is the full list of Lloyds pharmacies closing in Sainbury's supermarkets tomorrow:
- Alperton
- Alphington Road
- Altrincha
- Amblecote
- Apsley Mills
- Archer Road
- Arnold
- Ashton Moss
- Badger Farm
- Bagshot Rd
- Ballymena In
- Bamber Bridge
- Banbury
- Barnstaple
- Barnwood
- Bath
- Beaconsfield
- Berryden
- Bicester
- Biggleswade
- Bishop Auckland
- Blackheath
- Bognor Regis
- Bolton
- Bramingham Park
- Brentwood
- Bridgend
- Broadcut
- Brookwood
- Burnley
- Burpham
- Bury St Edmunds
- Bybrook
- Calcot
- Cannock
- Canterbury
- Carlisle
- Castle Point
- Chaddesden
- Chadwell Heath
- Chafford Hundred
- Cheadle
- Chester
- Chesterfield I
- Chichester
- Chippenham I
- Chiswick
- Christchurch
- Cobham
- Coldhams Lane
- Coreys Mill
- Court House Green
- Cramlington
- Crayford
- Cromwell Road
- Crystal Palace
- Darlington I
- Dartford In
- Denton
- Didcot
- Dome Roundabout
- Dulwich
- Dunstable
- Durham
- East Filton
- East Grinstead
- East Mayne
- East Prescot Rd
- Eastleigh
- Edenthorpe
- Ellesmere Port
- Eltham
- Ely
- Emersons Green
- Exeter
- Fairfield
- Fallowfield
- Farlington
- Farnborough
- Fosse Park
- Frome
- Glen Rd
- Gloucester Quay
- Godalming
- Charlton Riverside
- Grimsby
- Hadleigh Road
- Halifax
- Hampden
- Hankeridge Farm
- Harlow
- Harrogate
- Haverhill
- Hayes
- Haywards Heath
- Hazel Grove
- Heaton
- Heaton Park
- Hedge End
- Hendon
- Hereford
- Heyford Hill
- High Wycombe
- Hoddesdon
- Horsham
- Huntingdon
- I.O.W
- Keighley
- Kempshott
- Kempston
- Kenton
- Kidderminster
- Kidlington
- Kiln Lane
- Kings Lynn
- Ladbroke Grove
- Larkfield
- Leamington
- Lee Green
- Leeds Moortown
- Leek
- Letchworth
- Lewes Rd
- Lincoln
- Liverpool (Woolton)
- Locksbottom
- London Colney
- Longwater Lane
- Loughborough
- Low Hall
- Luton
- Macclesfield
- Maidenhead
- Mansfield
- Marsh Mills
- Marshall Lake
- Meadowbank
- Melksham
- Mere Green
- Merton
- Milton Keynes
- Monks Cross
- Morecambe
- Nantwich
- New Barnet
- New Cross Gate
- Newbury
- Newbury Park
- Newcastle U Lyme
- Newhaven
- Newport
- Newton Abbot
- Nine Elms
- North Cheam
- Northfield
- Northwich
- Oldbury
- Osmaston
- Paignton
- Penzance
- Penrith
- Peterborough
- Pinhoe Road
- Pound Lane
- Preston
- Purley Way
- Queens Rd
- Redbank Rd
- Reedswood
- Rice Lane
- Richmond
- Romford
- Rugby
- Rustington
- Sale
- Salford
- Scarborough
- Scunthorpe
- Sedlescombe Road
- Sevenoaks
- Shorehead
- Shrewsbury
- Slough
- South Ruislip
- Southend
- Southport
- Spalding
- Springfield
- St Albans
- Stanmore
- Stanway
- Stirling
- Straiton
- Streatham
- Stroud
- Sudbury
- Sunderland
- Sunderland North
- Sury Basin
- Swadlincote
- Swansea
- Sydenham
- Tadley
- Talbot Heath
- Taplow
- Team Valley
- Telford
- Tewkesbury Road
- Thanet Westwoodcross
- Thetford
- Thornhill
- Torquay
- Truro
- Tunbridge Wells
- Upper Norwood
- Upton
- Urmston
- Wakefield
- Walton
- Warlingham
- Warren Heath
- Watchmoor Park
- Water Lane
- Wednesfield
- Weedon Road
- Welwyn Garden City
- West Green
- West Park Farm
- Whitechapel
- Whitehouse Farm
- Whitley Bay
- Whitstable
- Wigan
- Winchmore Hill
- Winnersh
- Winterstoke Road
- Witney
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