Mandeep Mudhar, head of Alphega, speaks with P3 Pharmacy Magazine
Independents are living through a time of uncertainty, Mandeep Mudhar tells me. Head of Alphega Pharmacy since 2021, he says member businesses are facing the same headwinds as the rest of the sector: "cash flow, remuneration, dispensing at a loss – the whole funding structure and the uncertainties it creates".
Drug Tariff clawbacks are a particular headache. "Every business needs to be able to forecast and tell themselves: this is what my turnover looks like, this is what my costs look like. When you haven't got that certainty, it creates a huge moment of challenge. You still need cash to pay the bills and the salaries."
On top of that, the sector has been set the task of reorganising its workflows from top to bottom: "Pharmacies are asking, how can I juggle my time and my team's time in delivering services without dropping the ball in terms of the core, which is dispensing."
The growing membership organisation – "we're now just over 1,450 members" (around 500 more than three years ago) – tries to give independents tools to cope with the pace of change. For example, Alphega business mentors might recommend carrying out a 'time motion' study to assess what staff are doing when – including owner pharmacists.
Happily, Mudhar says, the sector is largely open to the new opportunities. As supervision regulations change, he finds that some members are spending almost the whole working day in the consultation room delivering services. "A few years back, they would have said I'm spending the majority of my time in the dispensary because that's where I need to be."
Credit: Arthur Walsh, P3 Pharmacy Magazine