TWO struggling West Somerset pharmacy branches are among 60 in the Westcountry being taken over by Allied Pharmacies.

Allied has taken on management of the former Jhoots premises in Irnham Road, Minehead, and Robert Street, Williton.

Both had seen complaints from patients unable to obtain prescriptions and medication because of random closures.

Most of the 60 sites taken over were said to be temporarily closed but Allied said it was ‘fully committed to reinstating essential pharmacy services’.

A spokesperson for Allied said the company was ‘taking steps to address outstanding salary arrears of employed staff’ and would work to ‘support the workforce and rebuild trust’.

Nationally, Jhoots had been suffering financial calamity as it was alleged not to have paid some staff and had been evicted from some premises for not paying rent, while there appeared to be a threat it could lose its NHS licence.

Allied Pharmacies was formed 20 years ago as a chain of partnerships with local pharmacists and now has more than 150 premises nationwide.

The Allied spokesperson said: “We are pleased to announce we have taken over the management of 60 Jhoots pharmacies.

“While the majority of these locations are temporarily closed, we are fully committed to reinstating essential pharmacy services.

“We recognise the fundamental role community pharmacies play in supporting public health and wellbeing and understand the disruption caused by these closures, particularly for vulnerable groups who depend on local access to vital healthcare services.

“Our immediate priority is to resume pharmaceutical services as soon as possible for these sites.”

The spokesperson said the takeover highlighted ‘broader challenges facing the community pharmacy sector’.

They said: “While a variety of factors may have contributed to the difficulties at Jhoots, systemic under-funding for almost a decade has placed immense strain on many operators.

“Without meaningful intervention at a national level, the collapse of other significant providers, as seen previously with Lloyds, and now Jhoots, could continue to affect patient care and the viability of community pharmacies nationwide.

“We would also like to express our appreciation for the dedicated former Jhoots employees who have been impacted during this difficult period.

“Their commitment has not gone unnoticed.

“Allied Pharmacies will be taking steps to address outstanding salary arrears of employed staff as part of our efforts to support the workforce and rebuild trust.

“We would also encourage locum pharmacist contractors who have worked with any of these branches, to contact the Jhoots administrators.

“Allied Pharmacies remains focused in our mission to deliver exceptional pharmaceutical care, and we look forward to strengthening our connection with each community we serve.”

Allied said it offered a ‘comprehensive partnership service’ covering all aspects of running a pharmacy, leaving partners free to focus on providing ‘an efficient and quality healthcare service to patients’.

The service included accounting and bookkeeping, regulatory affairs and managing changes, buying power and price benefits of a large group, and pre-registration student recruitment and training.

The spokesperson said: “We are always open to new partnership ventures and profit share roles for the right candidate.”