Pharmacy to close at Banbury Sainsbury - Lloyds may sell this to another company

The company announced closure of all 237 of its UK pharmacy outlets located in Sainsbury stores at a date to be announced.

It is hoped the company may be able to find another operator to take on the Banbury outlet which is used by thousands of patients, whose GPs send their prescriptions directly by the internet from the surgery to be prepared for collection.

The location has been convenient for many with extensive parking and allowing patients to do their shopping while waiting for prescriptions.

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.”

LloydsPharmacy is currently exploring options for each individual branch which means that timeline and final plans will vary on a branch-by-branch basis.

It is working with all sides potentially affected by the changes and has underlined its commitment to support them through the process. LloydsPharmacy says it is also committed to helping patients easily find a suitable alternative provision.

Under the terms of the Pharmaceutical Regulations LloydsPharmacy are required to give notice, but it is understood this has not yet been received for the Banbury branch."Lloyds will contact people who use the pharmacy for electronic prescriptions to advise them of their options. All pharmacies operate the electronic prescription service so a patient can nominate one of the five other pharmacies in Banbury, or another pharmacy convenient to them,” said a spokesman for the Berks, Oxon and Bucks Integrated Care Board (ICB).

“We will work with the Government and LloydsPharmacy over the next few months to minimise disruption and ensure people can continue to get the medicines and advice they need. LloydsPharmacy will give notice of closures. The date of closure for the Banbury branch is not yet confirmed.”For future reference a list of alternative Banbury area pharmacies is here.