There is a well established and government encouraged trend for GPs to work together in larger groups and to work in purpose designed modern premises. Developments of such scale almost inevitably involve property developers. Property developers and pharmacists are not however normally accustomed to working together and as a result have a relatively poor understanding of each others priorities and concerns.
To try to overcome this, many of the larger property developers have sub-contracted out the pharmacy aspects of their Primary Health Care premises developments to companies who have an understanding of community pharmacy. Such companies are charged by the developers with finding suitable pharmacy tenants, and preferably pharmacy tenants who can afford to pay the maximum possible “key money” and rent in order to be allowed to run a pharmacy in the new primary care premises. (Key money is a one-of premium payable upon pharmacy occupation of the primary HC premises)
Over time, I have been approached for advice by private individuals selling land for Health Centre development to property developers where a Pharmacy was envisaged. More commonly I have been approached for help and advice by property developers who have not had much experience of schemes containing a pharmacy. I have also been asked for advice and support by doctors and by pharmacists involved in such schemes, when they realised that the developers, or appointed sub-contractors, did not necessarily appear to have their best interests at heart.
Clearly there is a financial value to pharmacists in having a pharmacy inside a Health Centre. The more GPs working in the new premises the higher that value. However once developments like the electronic transfer of prescriptions (ETP) and Repeat prescription services are widely adopted, a pharmacy near to a patients home may be just as if not more convenient to patients as a pharmacy in or near to the surgery, as the need for patients to make as many surgery visits will in future decline. It would be reasonable to postulate that pharmacy key money and rents should in due course reflect this changed reality and those involved in schemes scheduled for completion in 2012 and beyond need to bear this in mind.