For someone not keen on large business development from a young age, it comes as a surprise that Jayesh Patel now has a group of 12 pharmacies and winner of The Pharmacy Business of the Year Award 2008. Faras Ghani traces Jayesh's humble beginnings, travels across the world in order to pursue a pharmacy career and how support from family has played a key part in his route to success...
From being the first independent pharmacists to win a private contract in an NHS hospital to receiving his second Pharmacy Business Award in three years – The Pharmacy Business of the Year Award 2008 – Jayesh Patel has vehemently labelled it a result of hard work, dedication and teamwork.
While he travelled from his native Kenya to India in order to pursue his love for the pharmacy world – where he not only completed his pharmacy degree but also met his wife, Illa – it was not until the completion of his pre-reg year from Sunderland that Jayesh thought about owning a pharmacy himself.
'I always had an interest in science and I wanted to pursue a career in medicine hence the trip to India following my O'Levels in Kenya,' Jayesh said. 'However, such was the competition for medical courses in India that I failed to achieve the required grades and took up the next best option: Pharmacy. And it just happened that I got a chance to pursue that degree in India.'
Following that, Jayesh made a trip across the continents to England, where his parents were residing and with a helpful qualifying procedure for overseas pharmacists in the 1980s, Jayesh qualified in 1982. 'We had to go through a procedure and couldn't just practise as an overseas pharmacist. We also had to apply to the Society to ensure that they were happy with the pharmacy degree while meeting various criteria. Thankfully, both me and my fiancé met that criteria and it was after qualifying that I realised I had aspiration to go into business but never imagined I'd develop such a successful group.'
The group, Delmergate Limited, now has 12 pharmacies scattered across Kent and employs around 70 full-time and part-time staff. And it all began, following his three-year stint as a locum, in 1986 withb Jayesh's first pharmacy, situated next to a Tesco superstore. Due to Jayesh's conscientiousness and continuous efforts to community service, it built up a good reputation and things went uphill from there.
'I was at the pharmacy all the time thus being able to answer questions whenever people had them. This allowed the trust between the pharmacy and the community to grow and we never looked back.'
With business running successfully, more and more pharmacies came as a result of recommendation by local GPs. Jayesh opened his first healthcare pharmacy in 1988 – by sheer coincidence, as he put it – and then decided they wanted to be 'very, very specific'.
'We thought that rather than open pharmacies here, there and everywhere, maybe our forte was in developing health-centre pharmacies. And now that we look back, in the 14 years that Delmergate has been in business, all 12 of our pharmacies are very specifically linked to health centres.'
Much of the success is owed to his supporting family, especially his wife and elder brother, as well as an accomplished senior team.
'Following my pre-reg in Sunderland, I lived as a joint family with my brother in south-east London. My wife, too, was in England following her degree as her parents lived here as well.
'I had never thought I had the business acumen. Even if I did, it never transpired I would own more than one shop. My first pharmacy [next to Tesco's] was a very large pharmacy, especially for a first shop. But we ensured it became a complete shop as we had an extensive range of products, including fragrances and even had a photo-lab.
'Following that successful venture, my outlook broadened with tremendous support from elder brother and colleagues who have been with me for 20-odd years. We worked very well as a team and felt that if we could do a fantastic job in one unit, why not go further afield.
'That is why I became a bit bold and by chance and recommendation from one doctor to another that we got interested, we got invited to join other health-centres as well.'
With a tremendous and hard-working team complementing a successful group of pharmacies, the only thing that remained was recognition from a wider audience. Jayesh did win the Pharmacy Business Enterprise Award 2006 but the team felt that the group needed something bigger given the determination and discipline that is on offer in every single Delmergate pharmacy.
'I tend to shy away from publicity but my team felt we deserved the award and they insisted they want to go for it. They felt that the business as a whole had everything in place that would possibly give us the edge over others in order to win the award. The simple reason being the work ethics right from the top. The directors pass it onto senior managers who then pass it onto the staff. Thus the entire group benefits from it and works like a family. Since it was the business of the year award, the whole group had to be involved including staff, people who we deal with, doctors, suppliers. I owe it to the whole team.'
Jayesh had not realised the true worth of the award he had won, the biggest award of the night. But he confirmed that he was ecstatic after receiving it. 'To win the award in front of good and the great in the pharma industry was very special, a moment we'll always cherish.
'We're tucked away in the part of the world where maybe people don't know of us. We quietly develop our own business so it was nice to be acknowledged.'
Jayesh's staff turnover is 'next to nothing' and that helps his business move forward. 'My staff is extremely proud to be working with a company like ours. I have staff who has been with me for a number of year purely because we pride ourselves for the kind of services that we provide.'
Looking after 12 pharmacies, Jayesh has an eye out on the future as well, both in terms of his own business and the future of the pharmacy world. He has welcomed the de-merger of the Society, labelling it a 'welcome move' and one that 'couldn't have come any sooner' and has ensured that recent graduates are drafted into his business so Delmergate can benefit from fresh ideas.
'With new services coming in, we also have a new breed of pharmacists coming in as well. They don't want to be termed mere dispensers and are keen to undertake a bigger role. Fortunately for me, I have a lot of new pharmacists..training up and joining up as the older ones retire and make way.'
Jayesh also lends his support to the Medway School of Pharmacy whereby first and second year students from the School have been training in his pharmacies for the last three years. He also has one of his pharmacists visiting the School and giving a lecture to first-year students every year.
'We not only train students but also our own staff. We have our own pharmacy training, dispensing training and counter training that we pay for but get an outsider to deliver. We normally hold three to four of such events every year and we've asked a law company from London to provide training to our staff regarding the Responsible Pharmacist regulation coming up later this year.'
Despite improved performance complementing the growth, Jayesh has adopted a cautious approach for the future. We try not to acquire new pharmacies but see if we can get new contracts. We've not rapidly expanded into a group of 30 to 40 pharmacies and rack up huge debts but waited for opportunities and rather than paying someone for the goodwill, we create our own.'
A goodwill that has landed awards, recognition and acknowledgement and by the looks of things, it may well carry on for quite some time.
Jayesh's advice to all..
A lot of my colleagues, even with single pharmacies, have embraced the change really well and are adopting to it really well as well. Therefore, if you don't follow suit, your income will drop, you won't earn as much as you used to and you'll be left behind. There might come a time when you'll be forced to do these services and if you don't, the PCTs may decide to withdraw your contract in the future.
This is a forward-looking contract. I see now reason why pharmacists can't adapt. You have to find time and do all the services the PCTs have asked you to do. You also need to delegate to a senior staff. Carry out MURs as they can now be done online. Most of the paperwork can now be done online as well so you have no excuse not to do it.
Be very prudent in your business relationship and cases as the current economy should make you think think twice before going into business. The current economic climate doesn't give anyone any confidence, especially when it comes to newly-qualified pharmacists. Therefore, it is quite risky to invest in a new venture. Everyone is cutting back and the best advice would be to work as hard as possible for now. You should save as much as you can, get enough cash behind you so if you have a very strong biz plan and you went to the bank or a financial institution, first thing they look at is how much of your own capital are you willing to risk. The more you have the better your case becomes.
Then you have a better chance of fighting the nationals as well.
© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business July 2009
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