Asha Fowells speaks to a pharmacist who has gone from newly qualified to being the proprietor of four pharmacies in less than a decade.

Registering as a pharmacist can feel like a step into the unknown. Few will forget the day they did their first “proper” stint as a pharmacist, when they probably checked, doublechecked and triple-checked everything for fear of getting it wrong.

Many newly-qualified pharmacists spend the first few years finding their feet as a healthcare professional, gradually taking on extra responsibilities and roles, perhaps trying out other pharmacies to see how things can be done differently, and almost certainly embarking upon additional study along the way.

Waqqass Sheikh was different. After graduating from the University of Sunderland’s pharmacy school in 2005 and completing his pre-registration training at an independent pharmacy in Lancashire, Waqqass knew his future involved ownership, and kept in touch with pharmacy agencies and brokers even while he was a locum for one of the big multiples. “I was offered a really good package at one point,” he says, “but although I was tempted, I knew I wanted to do my own thing.”

Foot in the door

After putting in many contract applications for various locations, Waqqass secured a 100-hour pharmacy contract for a site in Whalley Range, Manchester. He got a local joiner to do the shop fitting, advertised for staff – receiving a huge number of applications because of the recession but employing the first two people he saw because “they felt right” – and, remembering his pre-registration training year, signed up to Numark.

“I’ve been in so many independent pharmacies that look really tatty, and that just isn’t me. I wanted to do things properly and professionally, even when first starting out, so customers thought we were as good as the big boys, if not even better.” Three months later, in September 2009, Everest Pharmacy opened. “On the first day, I did seven items; the second day I did 15,” says Waqqass.

“After a couple of months, we’d got it up to 1,000 a month. I decided to visit every GP surgery in the area to introduce myself and explain that we could do deliveries, multi-compartment compliance aids… whatever they needed, really. “I used Numark a lot to boost the business. For example, I wanted to get into care homes, so I phoned Numark and they sent me their care homes tool kit, which included a template letter I could use to write to all the local homes.”

After a year or so, Waqqass felt the pharmacy was on a solid enough footing for him to look at opening another branch. He felt strongly that one of the locations where he had put in an early application – and had been refused on more than one occasion – was crying out for a pharmacy. So with newfound confidence, he went to a meeting of the local residents’ association (RA) to explain his vision.

Despite winning them over and gaining 30 letters of support, Waqqass’s subsequent application was again rejected, but instead of admitting defeat, he took the leader of the local RA – who was also a local councillor – and legal representation from pharmacy law firm Charles Russell with him to the oral appeal hearing… and won. The Ardwick branch of Everest Pharmacy opened in 2011 and has since been joined by two more pharmacies, one in Chorlton and the other in Darwen, Lancashire – the first Everest Pharmacy outside the Greater Manchester area.

The original Whalley Range branch was recently extended and fully refurbished, including the installation of a dispensing robot and three consultation rooms, which mean the pharmacy can now run child vaccination and travel health clinics, among other services. Waqqass views the financial outlay as an investment rather than a cost. “The reopening was a community day, with local people, healthcare professionals and dignitaries invited. I looked round at my pharmacy that is fit for the 21st century and fitting for the profession, and thought, ‘I’ve made it’.”

Giving back

On the face of it, Waqqass may come across as the consummate businessman, having built his pharmacy empire so rapidly and in such financially fraught times. However his dedication to the profession is demonstrated not only in the high standards he sets for his premises, but also his commitment to education and investment in people. Waqqass uses Numark to deliver company-wide training events, and has for the past few years employed pre-registration pharmacists, one of whom is now a branch manager.

“It’s not just about me passing on my knowledge to future pharmacists; it works the other way too,” he says. “We challenge each other, which keeps me fresh and on top of my game.” The Everest Pharmacy story proves that it is possible for someone to succeed as an independent proprietor, no matter how inexperienced and despite the stranglehold that the multiples can sometimes seem to have on the sector.

Waqqass says that passion is key, but anyone wanting to become an owner also needs to have drive. “There is a lot of support out there, but you have to be proactive and seek it out rather than waiting for the opportunity to present itself to you.”