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The new owners of a former branch of Jhoots Pharmacy in Minehead will close the business this Wednesday, just seven months after taking it over.

Allied Pharmacies notified Somerset integrated care board that it will stop providing pharmacy services in the town, according to a statement posted on Facebook last week by Minehead Medical Centre who said the pharmacy will close on July 1.

The pharmacy was one of 61 failing Jhoots pharmacies bought by Allied Pharmacies in November last year. Allied went on to buy another 68 Jhoots branches the following month. The closure of Allied’s pharmacy in Minehead leaves three other pharmacies in the town; Boots, Tesco and Alcombe Pharmacy.

Rachel Gilmour, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Minehead who expressed optimism that Allied’s takeover of the pharmacy would “see services improve” for patients in her constituency and ease the “pressures on existing pharmacies”, told Independent Community Pharmacist its closure was “disappointing” and said it was “a reflection of the sorry state of pharmacy funding at present”.

“My team and I have worked hard to help secure improved pharmacy provision in West Somerset. My sympathies go to the entire sector,” she said. “This is the modern reality of community pharmacies. It is naturally a blow to the community.”

Gilmour said a combination of other pharmacies in the town filling “some of the gaps left under Jhoots” coupled with patients equating Allied’s new premises with the former failing Jhoots branch contributed to the pharmacy’s closure.

“When Allied took over from Jhoots, I encouraged constituents to make use of the pharmacy,” Gilmour said.

“But by the time the pharmacy had reopened, other providers had stepped up to fill some of the gaps left under Jhoots, and some still associated the premises with the poor service they had received when the premises were previously open.”

Gilmour added “I will continue to work to ensure constituents across Tiverton and Minehead can access the life-improving and life-saving prescriptions they need, raising these issues with Ministers, and with local health providers and the ICB.

“There are three other excellent pharmacies in Minehead, and I have every confidence they can meet any increase in demand.”

Allied Pharmacies did not respond when asked why it decided to close the pharmacy so soon after taking it over, if it did not have the funds to keep it open and whether it is considering closing any of the other 128 pharmacies it acquired from Jhoots.

Image: Rachel Gilmour ©House of Commons