Co-op launches digital pharmacy in health drive

Five years after selling chemist chain for £620m to cut debt...

THE Co- op is launching a digital pharmacy that will let customers manage their NHS prescriptions through a smartphone. The move is part of ambitious plans to return to healthcare, which boss Steve Murrells ( pictured) will set out at its annual general meeting on Saturday.

The Co-op bailed out of the health market five years ago when it sold its pharmacy business for £620m in the wake of a financial crisis at its banking arm, which is no longer part of the group.

But it is now venturing back as it seeks to put itself at the centre of Britain’s communities.

The healthcare app will let users place orders for repeat prescriptions on their phone. In future, it could also offer patients so-called e- consultations, where they can speak to pharmacists over phones, iPads and other devices, and for a click-and-collect service using the Co-op’s vast network of shops.

The technology behind the digital pharmacy was developed by Dimec, a start-up that the group bought last year.

The launch is a key plank of the retailer’s strategy to make itself more central to community life, a theme Murrells will stress at the meeting on Saturday.

In a speech referencing the spirit of the Rochdale Pioneers who set up the Co-op in 1844, Murrells will argue that Brexit has ‘exposed deep divisions in society’ and that more must be done to support communities .

He will say: ‘The Co- op was founded in times of similar need 175 years ago by a group of people who cared about their community and wanted to change things for the better. They saw the answer in co-operation, bringing people together so everyone could play a part in making things better.

‘In today’s uncertain world, there’s as great a need for co-operation as at any time in our history, so we need to kick- start a new generation of co-operation.’

The return to healthcare comes as other big players move into the digital prescriptions business, including Amazon, Boots and Superdrug. Dimec was acquired through the Co- op Ventures arm in September.

One aim of the digital pharmacy will be to ease pressure on the NHS. The prescription of medicines is the most common contact that most patients have with the NHS and, after staff costs, is the second-highest area of spending.

Co-op’s other businesses span groceries – including the Nisa Local and Costcutter brands – funerals, insurance and legal services. It has also branched out to become a sponsor of academy schools across the UK, with 20 in its trust so far.

It educates more than 20,000 pupils, including sixth-formers, and has plans to take on another 20 schools over the next three years, potentially doubling its intake.

Pupils are given opportunities to take on apprenticeships with the company and this year, for the first time, it is set to offer sixth-formers grants that will allow them to do paid work while studying.

As part of its community support, Murrells is also expected to say the Co-op’s schools will make their own halls and other spaces available for public use.

It comes as it rides high on the back of a strong financial performance in 2018.

Co-op boasted group turnover of £10.2bn in the year to January 5, boosted by its takeover of Nisa last spring.