LloydsPharmacy has not announced or considered any other nationwide closures of standalone pharmacies, it confirmed to The Pharmacist today as its Sainsbury’s branches shut.

From the end of today, all 237 LloydsPharmacy branches located within Sainsbury’s stores will have ceased operations, following a period of withdrawal since January this year.

But the multiple confirmed to The Pharmacist that while it is ‘selectively selling some branches’ outside of the supermarket, it has not announced or considered any other nationwide branch closures of standalone pharmacies.

This comes after several reports from various media outlets which LloydsPharmacy said contained misleading information.

It said that the majority of the high-street branches that the multiple has selectively sold had been bought by independent pharmacy owners, ‘who have demonstrated their commitment to our branch teams and will ensure that, for patients, there will be no change in the way that they use their local pharmacy’.

LloydsPharmacy added that it has ‘been committed to helping patients easily find a suitable alternative provision’ throughout the process of closing its Sainsbury’s stores, including keeping patients informed of when services from their specific pharmacy will end so that they can transfer their nominations as needed.

And a Sainsbury’s spokesperson told The Pharmacist that LloydsPharmacy had agreed with the NHS that all its Sainsbury’s stores would close by the end of today, and the supermarket giant had been working with the pharmacy multiple ‘to ensure customers are clear on how they can access an alternative pharmacy provision to meet their needs’.

‘We are currently finalising how the space vacated by LloydsPharmacy will be used on a permanent basis and this will vary by store,’ the spokesperson added.

When a pharmacy closes, patients must nominate a new pharmacy, including for repeat prescriptions.