Government ‘working speedily’ to strengthen regulation of Jhoots pharmacies

Care minister Stephen Kinnock and pharmacy leaders are ‘working speedily to consider how to strengthen regulation’ in light of the reports on Jhoots pharmacy closures the Prime Minister told the House of Commons on Wednesday.

‘It is simply not right that customers and staff have been so badly let down,’ added Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, in reference to reports of some Jhoots branches closing, not paying their employees, and forcing patients to travel long distances for essential medication.

The Prime Minister was responding to a question from Edward Morello, MP for West Dorset, written in collaboration with Sadik Al-Hassan, MP for North Somerset and recently elected chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on pharmacy.

Mr Morello said: ‘Unfit pharmacy owners such as Sarbjit Jhooty, who has severely neglected patients and staff in West Dorset and across England, should not be running our care system.

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‘Will the Prime Minister make time in the parliamentary schedule for emergency legislation to give the Government and regulators powers to pay staff, tackle improper pharmacy owners and directors, and ensure that scandals like this can never happen again?’

This question follows an urgent parliamentary debate in October, during which local MPs described numerous reports of Jhoots branches closing and earlier this week it was announced that Allied Pharmacies has taken over the management of 60 Jhoots Pharmacies.

The MPs said the issue highlighted a gap when it comes to regulating pharmacy business owners which needed to be resolved.

Mr Al-Hassan said he was ‘pleased’ to hear that the Prime Minister ‘takes this matter seriously’ and as chair of the APPG on pharmacy, he will continue to promote cross-party efforts to tackle accountability failures in community pharmacy following the closure of Jhoots pharmacy branches.

He told The Pharmacist that he’s been dealing with this issue for longer than most due to the closure of two Jhoots pharmacies in Portishead, North Somerset.

‘It has been brutal for my constituents. They’ve had an unreliable, unpredictable pharmacy service that hasn’t given them access to medicines in a timely way or pharmacy services,’ he added.

He said that fighting to resolve this issue has felt like an ‘uphill battle’ and the situation should have never arisen. ‘Jhoots pharmacies seem to have been closing with abandon and that compromises staff and patient safety.’

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His role as chair of the APPG on pharmacy is to advocate for the sector but he was worried that Jhoots would damage the reputation of community pharmacy – something which is ‘completely unacceptable’.

However, he was also confident that change is coming. ‘This is something that I feel is on the verge of having a fix, and there are going to be consequences…for bad actors in pharmacy.’

Sadik Al-Hassan has also welcomed the news that Allied Pharmacies will be taking over the two Jhoots branches in Portishead, ensuring access to essential pharmacy services for local people.

Allied Pharmacies has said it is ‘fully committed’ to reinstating pharmacy services in the pharmacies it has taken over.

The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has written to members of parliament to ensure that those who are owed unpaid locum fees are being ‘highlighted and included’ as the government considers what next steps to take.

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There’s 151 Jhoots pharmacies 21 of which are under Manjit Jhooty's control and are independent the Jhoots branches involved in this issue. All the others are owned and operated by husband and wife, Sarbjit Jhooty and Nilam Patel.

Manjit Jhooty, who operates independently through Jhoots Healthcare Limited and Pasab Limited, said: 'There is no legal, financial, or governance connection between my companies and those operated by Sarbjit Jhooty. The pharmacies that my businesses operate are all fully solvent, functional and continue to provide important services.’