The task of serving a community for a local pharmacy has changed dramatically right across the UK in 2020.
The already essential task of providing prescription drugs and healthcare advice to patients, soon extended to supplying other critical supplies such as handwash, sanitisers and PPE as soon as the pandemic hit. And then as it progressed, pharmacies had to enhance their patient services to further support doctors’ surgeries and the NHS. Now as we move into winter, many will be delivering flu jabs across their communities.
Throughout the pandemic, the daily operation of a chemist store has been further impacted with the introduction of new social distancing measures such as a ‘one in, one out’ door policy or the re-organisation of shop floors to ensure staff, customer and patient safety.
Embattled British pharmacies that have already managed financial challenges in the lead up to, and as a result of the first wave of COVID-19, now face an even greater challenge. Amidst the swell of the second wave, a well-documented spike in the R number and the second lockdown which began on Thursday 5th November, the full economic impact of COVID-19 will be felt industry-wide for a while yet. This winter is no time to run out of cash.
A working capital facility such as that provided by RxBridge offers pharmacists the ability to access vital working capital as and when they require it.
The opportunity to drawdown as little or as much of the fund and they need from month to month, will be vital to see pharmacies survive and continue to service their communities in 2020/21.
Medical experts suggest that one flu season in four is particularly impactful, our previous two in 2018 and 2019 were of the more manageable kind, which means that we may be due for a harder year this year. Simply put, flu season puts a greater level of stress on the NHS even without a pandemic.
The UK’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jonathan Van Tam said:
“As we approach the winter and cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, it is crucial we double down on efforts to vaccinate as many people as possible from flu.
We have increased the number of people eligible for free flu jabs this year to reduce all avoidable risks and protect people from illness.”
However, many older and vulnerable people have chosen to steer clear of pharmacies and doctors’ surgeries, and at the same time, flu jab supplies have run dangerously low. So now is a time when a greater number of people could fall ill and need medicine from a pharmacy, that medicine needs to be in greater supply than normal, and when pharmacies need to stockpile for the winter – and having working capital available is the best means to do that.
The concern is greater than only the stress caused by the additional demand for medicine this winter. as far back as August 2020, an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, signed by 17 healthcare organisations described a very valid unease for the level of supply of vital medicines post-Brexit. Collectively national healthcare organisations expressed, “significant concerns about shortages of medical supplies if the UK were to leave the European Union without a deal.”
Pharmacists across the UK are now faced with the triple threat of two significant illnesses, each with the capacity to reinforce or accelerate the negative impact of the other, plus the potential disruption to the vital supply chains that deliver the medicines to fix them. There is a perfect storm facing pharmacies large and small, all over the UK this winter. Again, this is no time to run out of working capital.
RxBridge has more than 50 years of experience in supporting UK pharmacies and can help a pharmacist to immediately access up to 3X their monthly NHS revenue to meet working capital needs.
In the current climate, pharmacies are understandably seeking access to working capital, for example:
– to meet enhanced operational requirements in the business
– to stockpile essential medicines ahead of a surge in demand caused by the pandemic and the flu
– to cover the potential disruption to supply chains caused by Brexit.
An RxBridge facility offers a tailor-made solution for the current problems that a lot of pharmacy businesses are facing. Find out more >