LloydsPharmacy to pull out of its 237 pharmacy sites within Sainsbury’s supermarkets

LloydsPharmacy added that it is “exploring options” for each individual branch and will confirm exact closure plans on a “branch-by-branch” basis but expects to complete the process over the course of 2023.

It stressed that it is working with all colleagues impacted by the announcement but did not disclose how many workers would be affected.

Kevin Birch, chief executive officer of LloydsPharmacy, said: “This decision has not been an easy one and we understand that our patients and customers may have questions about how the change will affect them.

“We would like to thank them for their continued support and assure them that we are committed to providing a smooth transition over the coming months.

“I am very grateful to all our colleagues for their dedication to our patients, customers and communities.”

A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “LloydsPharmacy is withdrawing pharmacy services from our stores over the coming months.

“We will work with them to ensure customers are clear on how they can access an alternative pharmacy provision to meet their needs.”

The decision comes seven years after LloydsPharmacy first snapped up the pharmacies from the retailer for £125m.

It comes amid growing pressure on the UK pharmacy sector, following calls for increased state funding support.

Nigel Swift, deputy managing director at pharmacy group Phoenix UK, said: “This announcement is the clearest possible sign of the dire situation facing community pharmacy in England as a result of insufficient government funding. Since the start of the pharmacy contract there has been a massive cut in real-term funding resulting in hundreds of closures. This has to be a wake-up call for government.”

Earlier this month, an industry leader said that pharmacies could ease pressure on the NHS.

As he prepared to enter into emergency talks with the Prime Minister earlier this month, executive director of Day Lewis pharmacy group Jay Patel said pharmacies could test and treat infections and play a leading role in prescribing medications. The talks were part of the NHS Recovery Forum in which Rishi Sunak is meeting with health leaders in an attempt to alleviate the winter crisis in the health service.

Mr Patel told the PA news agency: “I’m hoping that we can look for high impact and quick interventions so that community pharmacy can play a role in alleviating the current pressures.”

Asked what pharmacies could do, he said they could help treat infections: “At the moment there is a massive surge in Strep A. With the right protocols we could test and treat Strep A.”

He added the same could be done for urinary tract infections.

“These aren’t difficult things to do,” he continued. “It is a case of training a professional for a few hours and having access to the relevant test kits.”