190 pharmacies to close

LLOYDS Pharmacy will close 190 stores across England due to changes in Government policy, with its parent company blaming funding cuts and business rates for the move.

Cormac Tobin, managing director at Lloyds Pharmacy owner Celesio UK, said the cuts over the past two years were dramatic, adding: ‘Community pharmacy needs to adapt to the changing requirements of patients and the NHS. Indeed, it should be part of the solution to an overstretched service.’

The business said it had also been hit by the apprenticeship levy.