With so many new pharmacy applications prompted by so many closures are new applicatiosn being approved?
The last couple of years have seen an unprecedented number of pharmacy closures across England that have mainly been driven by large multiples exiting the market for various reasons and smaller contractors closing or merging unviable pharmacies. Some of these closures make little sense at first glance as they involve large pharmacies closing in areas where there are no other easily accessible pharmacies. These closures have prompted a surge in applications for new pharmacies, but with very mixed results.
Looking at the applications and appeals that Rushport has been involved in there are possibly some trends emerging, but I say “possibly” as there is also a lack of consistency in the decision making.
Firstly it is clear that simply applying to open a pharmacy because one has closed is a pointless exercise if there are still existing pharmacies in the area that can be easily accessed. I have often turned down instructions to act for people who want to make such applications only to see that they have proceeded anyway and get refused at appeal. Of course there are exceptions, particularly at ICB level, where the ICB may feel that a certain number of closures means that there is now a lack of reasonable choice in an area. We have had applications approved at ICB level and have then done everything possibl to ensure that no appeals were submitted against these approvals as the chances of winning the application at appeal feels much lower than at ICB level.
Again, this is just my view, but it also feels as if Primary Care Appeals has raised the bar on what they will approve as the number of applications has increased. We had a recent case where there were two Applicants trying to open a pharmacy in a village with no existing pharmacy and very serious, numerous and well documented problems being faced by local people who needed to access a pharmacy. This application(s) was one of the best I have seen in many years and I felt almost sure that it would be approved and possibly even without a hearing, but Primary Care Appeals refused both applications without even holding a hearing and this left everyone involved puzzled to say the least.
Another recent (and admittedly much weaker) application with three different Applicants covering four locations in a town did make it as far as a hearing, but were all refused I cannot help but feel that the same applications would have been approved 2 or 3 years ago.
Advisors won’t often talk about the applications they do not win, but I think it is important to judge the mood at the time when considering the likely chances of success. Of course the problem with that is an application can take 12 months to reach a hearing so the mood may have changed in that time.
In any event, the pace of applications is starting to slow down, which is welcome, but there are many still in the system to be decided and it has been the busiest year Rushport has ever had advising on new contract applications.