A WhatsApp group set up as a “supportive network” for community pharmacists a decade ago has become “formally incorporated as a cooperative organisation” to represent independent contractor members, it announced last week (April 2).
Now calling itself the Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network (IPCN), the WhatsApp group says it has around 400 contractors in its network.
It says as most of their members own one or more pharmacies, this represents around 1,000 independent pharmacies.
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Founding members include independent contractors Dervis Alkan Gurol, Tas Bhatti, Rifat Asghar-Hussain, Raza Ali, Ahsan Bhatti, Sri Kanaparthy, Sarfaraz Juma, Mitesh Patel and Prabjaudt Channa.
The IPCN said evolving from a WhatsApp group to a cooperative means it will “remain accountable, transparent, and fully aligned with the values of independent pharmacy”.
The IPCN added that there is “no national representative body truly reflecting the voice and interests of small independent pharmacy owners” and registering as a cooperative allows the IPCN to be “owned and governed by our members”.
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In the wake of the CPCF funding deal announced last week, a member of the collective posted on LinkedIn to call for “the immediate resignation of the entire executive team of Community Pharmacy England”.
It also said it would “proceed with a legal challenge under fiduciary law” against CPE.
It said this was based “on the grounds that CPE has failed in its duty to act in the best interests of the contractors it represents and has agreed to a settlement that directly undermines the viability of the sector”.
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It added: “This is not a funding deal. It is the formalisation of a policy trajectory that accepts fewer pharmacies, thinner margins, and continued attrition.
“The evidence is clear. The numbers are not in dispute. What has been lacking is the will to fight for a sustainable future.”
