All is Well as the Co-operative Pharmacy completes 782 branch rebrand

Well Pharmacy has completed its rebrand of its 782 pharmacies from the Co-operative Pharmacy. The UK’s largest independent pharmacy chain is now operating under its new name, Well, following the announcement of the rebrand in February this year.

The re-brand comes as part of a £200million investment programme following the acquisition by the Bestway Group late last year. It sees the business commit to launching new and extended healthcare services over the coming months that will help alleviate pressure on the NHS by supporting communities to take care of their health and wellbeing with Well.

These include:

• Well CarePlus – Partnering with Invatech Health, Well has launched Careplus, which uses the Proactive Care System (PCS), to improve the lives of care home residents through supporting the administration of medication. PCS is the only proven UK system using barcode technology to enhance patient safety and allow care professionals to digitally manage resident medication. The accompanying Well Pad, which operates PCS, is a piece of smart technology designed specifically for care professionals. The easy to use system helps to identify the correct medication for each resident and can even alert staff to administration times.
• Free blood pressure checks across all branches, with no appointment necessary customers can pop in and monitor their blood pressure. So far Well have delivered 1000’s of checks across the country, supporting early detection of high blood pressure which can lead to conditions such as cardiovascular disease and stroke.
• Smoking Cessation – Well is working collaboratively with the NHS to grow this service across their branch network. In Stoke, for example, Well is working with one of the biggest private smoking cessation providers, who have been sub-commissioned by a number of Local Authorities across the country to provide NHS Smoking Cessation services. All branches in Stoke will now provide NHS Smoking Cessation services, and Well is also growing this service within the other areas across the country. This will significantly increase market share and their ability to support customers to quit smoking.
• Well’s Winter Flu Jab service will be extended nationally with the Private Jab available in over 700 branches across the UK and the Free NHS Flu Jab in locally commissioned regions.

Well is also investing in training and support to develop the role of their pharmacy teams to enable colleagues to support the growing demand for primary healthcare services across the UK, in turn helping to alleviate the pressure on the NHS services.

Significant progress has also been made on their acquisition plan with the acquisition of Pharmacy Chain Care4u in Devon earlier this year and there are several acquisitions in progress which are expected to be announced in December, adding to its portfolio of 782 branches nationwide.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, also opened the new Manchester based head office of Well last month. In total, 250 of Well’s employees, working in the branch support teams will be based at the Grade II listed 22,000 square feet space.

John Nuttall, CEO at Well comments: “We’re proud to have rebranded the 782 branches in our estate and Well is now supporting the health and wellbeing of local communities across the UK.

“We’re committed to continuing to ease the pressures faced by frontline NHS services through our community pharmacies, beyond simply providing prescriptions. Our plans for a strengthened healthcare services offering and continual investment in our Pharmacy teams will facilitate the provision of personalised patient care, to improve the health and wellbeing of the local communities we serve.”

Well is now the fourth pillar of the Bestway Group following the £620m buyout in 2014. Zameer Choudrey, Bestway Group CEO said: “We are delighted that the rebrand to Well has now been completed. The move forms part of Bestway’s £200 million investment in a five year strategy to develop and grow Well’s operations, with a target of annual revenue reaching £1 billion by 2019. Well also plans to extend its network of pharmacies from 780 branches to 1,000 across the UK by 2018.”

To arrange an interview with John Nuttall, please contact the Well press office on pharmacy@havasww.com or 0161 236 2277

About Well

Well is the new name for the Co-operative Pharmacy, which has been at the heart of British communities since 1945 – and following its £620million acquisition from The Co-operative Group, by Bestway Group in October 2014, is now the UK’s largest independent pharmacy chain.

With 780 branches across the UK, Well dispenses more than 73 million prescriptions every year and employs over 7,000 people in the UK.

As well as dispensing prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines, Well’s professional pharmacists provide personalised healthcare and wellbeing and valued products, in a friendly and compassionate way so that every customer can make the most of their health. Its comprehensive services are provided by professional pharmacists, many of which are free of charge.

Well pharmacists offer confidential advice and products for customer’s wellbeing, minor ailments, specialist health services such as smoking cessation and weight management and management of medicines. As a provider of primary healthcare Well pharmacies are here to save customers trips to their GP, local hospital A&E or help them make healthy lifestyle changes.

About Bestway Group

Bestway Group has an annual turnover of approximately £3.6 billion and a global workforce of 33,000 people, with over 11,900 people in the UK. It is the UK’s eighteenth largest privately owned company and seventh largest family-owned business.

Along with Well, which is the UK’s largest independent pharmacy chain, the Group also consists of the UK’s largest independent wholesale business, and both the largest cement manufacturer and 2nd largest private bank in Pakistan.