Lloyds Pharmacy, a leading community pharmacy and healthcare provider, has undertaken a strategic review of its operations in what it says is a "response to changing market conditions" and agreed that pharmacy services will be withdrawn from all Sainsbury’s stores over the course of 2023.
Lloyds Pharmacy, which bought Sainsbury's 280-strong pharmacy network in 2015 in a deal worth £125m, confirmed the company's instore pharmacy at Sainsbury's Ballymena is included in the closures.
The plans will put around 2,000 jobs at risk across the UK, and comes on the back of the company selling a number of branches in recent months, including Lloyds Pharmacy on Broughshane Street in Ballymena. Gordon's Chemist took over the branch at the end of last year.
Commenting on the announcement, Chief Executive Officer of LloydsPharmacy, Kevin Birch 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.”
He added: “I am very grateful to all our colleagues for their dedication to our patients, customers and communities.”
Lloyds Pharmacy is currently exploring options for each individual branch which means that timeline and final plans will vary on a branch-by-branch basis.
The company said it is working with all colleagues potentially affected by the changes and has underlined its commitment to support them through the process. Lloyds Pharmacy is also committed to helping patients easily find a suitable alternative provision.
A full list of affected stores, and information on how patients and customers can continue accessing pharmacy services, is available at the Lloyds Pharmacy website, via this link.