'shocking' Pharmacy Chain Should Be Shut Down - Mp

A drugstore concatenation has superior questions to reply complete allegations of financial mismanagement, according to MP Sadik Al Hassan.

Staff astatine Jhoots Pharmacies tally by Sarbjit Jhooty are owed £670,000 successful unpaid wages, according to national Pharmacists Defence Association. There are astir 150 Jhoots Pharmacies crossed nan UK, of which 129 are tally by Sarbjit.

Mr Al Hassan said nan business was "shocking", pinch patients near struggling to get prescriptions arsenic Jhoots branches were regularly and unexpectedly closed, aliases unfastened pinch debased stock.

Sarbjit said he was moving to return things to normal "as swiftly arsenic possible" while NHS representatives said they were moving to resoluteness issues.

The Pharmacists Defence Association said nan £670,000 unpaid costs measure related to locum unit who worked for Jhoots branches crossed nan UK.

Unlike imperishable employees, locum unit run successful a freelance capacity and usually supply short-term cover.

One erstwhile Jhoots worker claims to beryllium owned respective 1000 pounds aft moving astatine a branch successful Somerset.

She asked to beryllium kept anonymous, fearing speaking publically whitethorn effect her declare for payment, and said: "[In] January they conscionable seemed to extremity paying us."

She said she said to Sarbjit astir nan issues, and he referred her to HR. However, her emails to nan section went unanswered.

"It's been horrendous," she said. "We've each fallen down pinch each our bills, group person mortgages, car payments to pay.

"It's affected america greatly, moreover down to being capable to nonstop my kid to schoolhouse pinch a packed luncheon for nan day. I wasn't capable to supply astatine points, having to get money disconnected family members.

"It's affected my intelligence wellness rather heavily."

She said issues astatine nan drugstore besides meant unit had to woody pinch "angry customers".

"They weren't getting their medication," she explained. "Or they were being promised it and past it was being fixed to different patients, truthful past we were having to reorder nan stock. It wasn't pleasant."

In Wiltshire, Swindon South MP Heidi Alexander is promoting a petition calling connected Jhoots' bosses to enactment aft a branch successful nan municipality had regularly been closed.

She said location had been "repeated closures, nary pharmacists, unanswered calls, quiet shelves".

"This isn't conscionable inconvenient. When group are unwell, it's unsafe," she added.

In Fishponds, Bristol, 1 branch was closed pinch a motion connected nan doorway blaming a deficiency of pharmacists.

Similarly successful Somerset, a poster successful nan model of nan closed Jhoots Pharmacy successful Williton sounds "no pharmacist today".

Residents location told nan BBC it had been consistently unopen for 3 to 4 weeks.

"It's impacted everybody astir here," said 1 resident, who said it had peculiarly impacted nan older procreation who had recovered it "very hard" to get their prescriptions.

Residents successful Portishead person besides seen a "massive decline" successful nan readiness of drugstore services, according to Mr Al Hassan.

The North Somerset MP, who utilized to beryllium a pharmacist, said nan business was "unacceptable".

"Jhoots are unreliably open, they don't needfully person communal items of banal disposable for prescriptions and now 1 of them [in Portishead], connected nan Thursday earlier nan past slope holiday, shuttered their doors and ne'er reopened," he added.

Across nan UK location are 153 Jhoots pharmacies registered pinch nan General Pharmaceutical Council.

All are owned, astatine slightest successful part, by either Sarbjit aliases Manjit Jhooty.

Manjit, who owns much than 20 Jhoots branches done his companies Pasab and Jhoots Healthcare, said nan trading sanction Jhoots was utilized by several, independent companies which each had their ain guidance building and procedures.

He said his branches remained "fully functional and proceed to present services to nan communities they serve".

The allegations successful this article subordinate to pharmacies managed by Sarbjit, who confirmed he operated independently from Manjit.

"While we stock nan name, Jhoots Pharmacy is an wholly abstracted and independent pharmacy," Sarbjit said.

He admitted location had been issues astatine his pharmacies, and blamed "workforce and recruitment challenges" which he said had been a problem successful nan South West "for galore years".

"We are actively engaging pinch staff, section partners, and wider stakeholders to reside these pressures and guarantee that diligent attraction and organization services are supported successful nan agelong term," he added.

Sarbjit did not respond to nan BBC's petition for remark connected allegations Jhoots unit had not been paid.

Mr Al Hassan is owed to meet Jhoots bosses this month, but he said nan NHS besides needed to get a grip connected nan issues.

He said nan wellness work could assistance and return distant NHS activity from pharmacies and called connected Jhoots to surrender its NHS contracts successful his constituency.

"Even though that Jhoots [in Portishead] is closed, it still counts arsenic having a drugstore statement successful nan area," he explained.

"In 2023, Jhoots bought different 40-odd pharmacies that were closing.

"They were allowed to do that contempt their history of mediocre abilities to unfastened their drugstore aliases statement compliance.

"This level of statement guidance puts nan full estimation of drugstore astatine risk, to let an usability for illustration this to continue," he continued.

When approached for comment, NHS England directed nan BBC to various NHS Integrated Care Boards successful nan South West which are responsible for managing pharmaceutical contracts connected a section level.

In very akin statements, spokespeople for nan attraction boards successful North Somerset, Somerset and Swindon said they recognised nan interest caused erstwhile pharmacies closed. They added they were "committed" to ensuring residents had entree to replacement provision.

All said they could return general action against pharmacies successful breach of their contracts "where necessary".