We've seen the growing incidence of #banking deserts (where towns have no bank branches at all), now as #Boots will close around 300 #pharmacies in the UK in a bid to 'optimise' locations, the Q. is how will this impact local communities?
Positively, it may remove a competitor from local (and regional) pharmacies allowing them to capture more provision of #medicines & associated products, but;
negatively, where Boots has already driven out the competition, will we see new pharma-deserts?
I love the principle they have in France concerning bakeries. Bread is an indispensible staple in French cuisine and they take it's availability very seriously. If you own a bakery (most in France are run by owner/bakers), and you wish to retire or leave the trade, you cannot simply close up, you are obliged to sell the business on to someone else who wants to use it as bakery so that it's customer base is not inconvenienced by not have access to the indispensable freshly baked baguette morning, noon and night!
They have similar rules about pharmacies - you may not simply decide to open a pharmacy wherever you like. You need to get authorization and you won't get it if you are in close competition with an existing pharmacy. Likewise there are rules about closing down a pharmacy so in France, Boots would have a real fight on their hands with civil servants who have the absolute power to say no. Quite right too!
@ChrisMayLA6 My local town (population 3,980) has three pharmacies; all have been bought over by Boots. This means they have a local monopoly, and I can understand that it would make sense for them to close two.
However, it's questionable whether even local private-sector monopolies are in the public interest – especially when virtually all of what pharmacies supply comes out of the public purse.
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