Winning partnership

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

Steadying the ship

In a time of tumultuous change, pharmacists are repeatedly advised by industry experts to adapt the change into their businesses in order to stay afloat. Pharmacy Business reports a similar message that was delivered at the CAMRx Convention 2009 as it eased the growing concerns and reminded individuals to watch out for the 'ice-berg'...

In times when the profession is moving forward with more and more responsibilities handed over to a pharmacist – with customers more inclined to showing up at pharmacies rather than GP surgeries – industry experts are worried at a lack of planning on the individuals' part.

According to Rajni Hindocha, managing director of CAMRx, goals that pharmacists set themselves are not clear enough; Progress, by the looks of it, is not measured or specific; The fun element of work is missing. And as attendees at the CAMRx Convention 2009, held in Southampton last month, found out that knowing what to do was not enough and it was important to do what is known by remembering that a small effort can end up in giant results.

Apart from Hindocha, speakers at the convention included Jonathan Mason, national clinical director for Primary Care and Community Pharmacy DoH; Rob Darracott, chief executive of Company Chemists' Association; Mike Holden, chief officer of Isle of Wight Pharmaceutical Committee; Stuart Ward, clinical director of NHS Hampshire; Fin McCaul, chairman of Independent Pharmacy Federation; Arthur Daines, associate director CAMRx.

With the conference adapting a Titanic theme, Daines aptly launched the event by reminding delegates, and the greater pharmacy profession in general, that it is easy to sit back and laud the strengths while forgetting weaknesses and the 'invisible' factors that are hurting businesses.

'While pharmacists are easily accessible – at the heart of the community – and offer fast and efficient service, they are affected by internal problems such as poor delegation of work and reluctance to change that, ultimately, affects the business in general,' Daines said. 'We also offer instant and friendly service, without the customer having to book an appointment, poor marketing and time management as well as lack of training and development within the business may bring all the good work down quite easily.'

Echoing the message, McCaul spoke about how pharmacists need to realise the objective and harness the opportunity. Passing on his pointers for survival, he stressed that pharmacists need to accept that change was inevitable and rather than opposing it, they must adapt it and share paths.

'The other thing to remember is the current economic situation,'McCaul said. 'The financial roller-coaster is here to stay and we need to prepare and maintain an adaptable business plan that takes into account how the financial world is shaping up.

'While keeping one eye on the market situation, we also need to ensure that we introduce budgeting and forecasts into the business plan and prepare something that impresses the funding banks and wholesalers. In the end, you must ensure that you measure what you do, measure the progress you've made and list the drawbacks in order to be successful.'

Citing the iceberg example, McCaul reminded pharmacists that it was only known issues that were visible on the surface and easy to tackle. The 'hidden part of the iceberg, one that causes most damage' is generally invisible to the naked eye and cause the most damage if not countered.

'Personalities, emotions, hidden issues from the past, interests, needs and desires are all issues that can damage the business if not tackled. There is also the hidden expectation, self perception and self esteem that needs to be looked at for the business to be successful,' he added.

Highlighting the strength and popularity of community pharmacy in the recent years, Darracott said that the number of prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacy has increased by 53 per cent in the last nine years. The value of the prescriptions dispensed has increased considerably as well; 91.7 per cent rise in the last ten years to just over £8,000m.

Alluding to the strengths of community pharmacies, Darracott highlighted its position to reach healthy and well people as well as adding value to existing patient interaction that involves medication something pharmacists need to utilise effectively.

'With that in mind, we need to work together with practitioners, our partners in delivery,' Darracott said. 'Working together on shared goals and shared vision will only help the profession move forward. Pharmacy bodies' work on the White Paper is an example but others need to be engaged. It's a welcome first step in the right direction.'

The idea of collaborative working was explained further by Ward, a GP himself who started with the reminder that primary care is not restricted to GPs alone as it covers a number of trusted professions, namely dentists, optometrists and pharmacists since these professions have the first contact with the population.

'The number of patients is increasing and they are becoming more demanding,' Ward said. 'In order to manage this, healthcare messages need to be aligned. Working as a team will reduce workload, stress and improve your life as well as the patients'.

'The simplest way of improving standards is to utilise the MURs and use them imaginatively, minimise waste, maximise efficiency of repeat prescribing and ensure safe prescribing.' Ward added.

By following the basic guidelines and working together, according to him, the profession can provide better healthcare, develop new services, reduce hassle and annoyance and make life easier for all parties concerned.

As the word 'fun' echoed around the business session, used repeatedly by Hindocha to emphasise its need in a pharmacy, it was deemed important show delegates a glimpse of that. And as the business session terminated with the message of enjoying work, ensuring it does not become a burden, a Titanic-themed gala dinner followed with attendees urged to spark a moment of change in their respective pharmacies the next time they enter them.

Adapting to the change
Since we are surrounded by a huge amount of change, it is essential to provide this kind of support otherwise people are set in their habits. We do this by ensuring that they adopt to the new direction of travel. The major shift from supply to service function means that you need to change your behaviour as well as how you are going to work with the whole team, the interaction, especially, has to change.

We have been getting feedback from our members with regards to our conventions and roadshows and they have been excellent. We are glad to be of help to our members by providing this interaction that helps them to understand that it is just not their problem, it exists across the boards. Since these pharmacists work in silence, they think it's their problem only. Interaction and an event such as this helps break the ice teaches them how to work smartly. They talk to to each other, they talk to us, and they get a full message of interdependency between multiples, independents and the professionals.

Although we compete with each other, we have to learn to work in partnership and while we compete, we should be able to create our own USPs. That's also the overall message — to work in partnership because we have a backdrop of monopoly purchase of services. If we can't be united then we will end up as the biggest losers. We only have one purchaser, if we're united then we will be seen to be one provider and therefore the profession needs to unite.

CAMRx itself is in a very strong position. We are not about numbers but about quality and support. There exists passion in the centre, a quality service that we provide and how best we can support our members' businesses.

R Hindocha
Managing director, CAMRx

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business July 2009

The travel bug

With international travels increasing considerably, there exists a worrying lack of awareness within travellers with regards to vaccinations. As swine flu grows from a few worrying cases into a pandemic, a recent briefing into travel vaccines passed on the experts' concerns...

The ease of travel in the current age has been blamed as a significant reason behind the spread of swine flu (H1N1) as it moved from the first reported cases to pandemic in just five weeks. Despite the global recession that has seemed to affect businesses and individuals globally, and in the UK, there were 68 million trips made abroad by UK residents in the last 12 months.

Worryingly, however, are the results of a TNS survey, showcased in a travel health briefing held in part with Novartis Vaccines, that one in four travellers questioned had no vaccination at all despite travelling to locations where it was required. Of the 334 questioned – of which 110 had visited Asia, 110 had visited Africa and 111 had visited Middle East – 63 per cent spent only half and hour thinking about protecting their health while travelling.

Commenting on the findings, Carol Fraser, representing TNS who carried out the survey, said it was worrying how only one in ten would leave their luggage unprotected but one in four were leaving their health unprotected. She also added that 25 per cent of travellers failed to seek any health advice prior to their travels, thus making themselves more vulnerable to falling ill when abroad.

'What was more surprising that of the 75 per cent that sough medical advice, 7.5 per cent did have the vaccinations that they were advised and a third of those said they were prepared to take the risk,' Fraser added.

According to Dr Richard Dawood, medical director of the Fleet Street Clinic, people were taking advantage of the economic climate and travelling while between jobs or a career change.

'There is a lot of travelling going on right now, especially to exotic locations in Asia and Africa,' Dawood said. 'Travel to Asia has increased three folds in the last 18 years while travel to Africa has doubled in the same period and travel times are less than the incubation period of most diseases.

'Holiday-makers will spend hours choosing their swim-wear or their beach bags or even their flip-flops, but barely minutes thinking about the viruses, bacteria, or other health information and advice that could ruin their trip, or even kill or cripple them. It is therefore advisable for travellers to obtain good health information and advice for each trip from a reliable source.'

The briefing carried a general consensus that a lot more was required by all concerned parties in order to increase public awareness.

The figures speak...
Nearly two-thirds (62%) were holiday-makers while 23% were visiting friends and relatives and 15% were travelling on business.
63% spent less than half and hour thinking about protecting their health and only 3% spent half a day.
25% were no vaccinated against any disease
25% fail to seek any medical advice prior to their travels
Of those that sought advice, 7.5% vaccination that they were advised
Despite 98% being aware of Meningitis, only 16% of those travelling to Africa – known as the Meningitis Belt – were immunised against Meningitis
51% of those visiting Asia were travelling to its rural areas but 34% were unaware of the vaccinations recommended for those areas
TNS survey, 334 respondents

Novartis' H1N1 vaccine production
Novartis has successfully completed the production of the first batch of influenza A(H1N1) vaccine. This vaccine monobulk will be used for pre-clinical evaluation and testing and is also being considered for use in clinical trials. More than 30 governments have made requests to Novartis to supply them with influenza vaccine ingredients.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business July 2009

Focus on the pharmacist

The ninth annual Avicenna Conference in April reminded pharmacists to provide increased, and relevant, services to the patients. In addition to our coverage in the last issue, Pharmacy Business revisits two key presentations from Las Vegas focussing on PIS, Generics and the need for delegation...

Pharmacists are control freaks, Trevor Gore, sales development controller at Reckitt Benckiser, claimed during his presentation in Las Vegas. According to Gore, the urge to undertake every task themselves, and not trusting colleagues and staff, is something that pharmacists need to consider and work on immediately in order to be more productive, both individually and financially for the business.

Presenting the changing face of pharmacy – comparing the trends in 1999 to how things stand in 2009 – Gore stated that ten years ago, majority of pharmacies were independent, had a single GB contract and had central funding. While the contracts were based on supply, location was the key for pharmacies back then.

However, according to Gore, since the turn of the century, not only are majority of pharmacies multiple-owned, but the focus has shifted drastically towards services of relevance to the community. He also added that there now exists local funding, devolved contracts and the contract is based on service provision.

'Judging by the changing face of pharmacy, it is important that pharmacists provide the services that are relevant to the locality and are financially beneficial for the business,' Gore said. 'However, what we see now is pharmacists providing services that have no value in the eyes of customers. They provide those services because they think it's good for the customers but in reality, you're not catering to the audience.

'Don't sell what you've got. Instead, sell what they want,' was the services-related message sent out by Gore to not only the 100-plus attendees at the Conference but also the pharmacy world in general. He also urged pharmacists to 'drop the admin tasks', something that the professionals are keen on performing in their pharmacies, as that was not why they took up the profession in the first place.

'Pharmacists did not become pharmacists to be a book-keeper, or even a dispenser. Robots can do all that and there is no need to qualified pharmacists, entrepreneurs, to be delving so much time into book-keeping and dispensing as there are far better things they need to be involved in.'

With regards to efficient time-management, Gore emphasised on the great role staff training and delegation plays in improving the overall standard of the pharmacy, in terms of customer service as well as improving the financial side of the business.

'You need good staff. They are your biggest asset. You also need to spot business patterns and act accordingly. In order to achieve that, you need to define the task, select the individual or the team, depending on the task, and asses the ability and training needs before assigning the task.

'When dealing with staff, you need to define success and measurements and what resources are required and will be utilised for the tasks to be carried out. It is important that adequate planning is done beforehand otherwise the time and resources spent on delivering on time will be wasted in the end.'

There is also a great need to ensure pharmacists provide the support and have a thorough communication process while staff is busy undertaking the tasks, according to Gore.

Gore also cited the Pareto Principle to encourage pharmacists to invest time wisely and where it is needed the most.

'As, according to the Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, eight per cent of your time spent working on something produces twenty per cent of your results. Looking at that closely, it would simply mean that twenty per cent of your time therefore delivers eight per cent of your work. It is imperative to look closely at that twenty per cent of time that you spend working on tasks.

'You need to put the right things in the right order in the right amount of time, basically. And moving forward, it would also hold true for the services you offer. There is no need to offer an array of services that you might think are relevant to the community.'

Earlier, Bharat Shah, managing director of Sigma Pharmaceuticals, delivered a timely reminder into the need and benefits of parallel distribution.

'Parallel distribution allows original, innovative medicines to be available at a lower cost to the patient,' he said. 'Parallel distribution also enhances competition, ensures internal supply chain assurances and external regulatory checks for patient safety and gives pharmacists and patients a choice.

'Adding to that, parallel distribution supports existing medicines distribution systems and the distribution creates new businesses and new jobs and improves margins for pharmacies.'

Bharat Shah also touched upon Parallel Imports (PIs) and assured one and all that PIs are a completely legal economic activity, re-affirmed many times both by the European Commission and by the European Courts.

'The PIs are exclusively limited to the borders of the EEA (27 member states of European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) as regards both source and destination and it is where the parallel distributors hold wholesaling and manufacturing authorisations and deal in authorised medicines only with other parties holding wholesaling and/or manufacturing authorisations.'

Detailing the basic principles behind parallel imports, he said that each and every parallel-distributed medicine is tightly controlled by national and European regulatory authorities (either under a national marketing authorisation, or under European parallel distribution notice).

'In the UK, BAEPD represents a trade association representing 12 of the largest and longest-established parallel distributors of EU imported medicines in UK. There exist seven major legal basis of Parallel distribution – major and foremost Treaty of Rome: ‘free movement’ principle/exhaustion of IP rights.'

Shah also took time out to introduce and explain the basics of SigXchange, where the seller lists item and/or responds to a requested item. Once the enquiry is made, Sigma contacts seller and buyer before collecting goods from seller and delivering to the buyer. The lead time, according to Shah, was usually 24 to 48 hours and the fee the seller is charged depends upon the seller's monthly spend on SigXchange. For example, a seller with a monthly spend of less than £2,500 will be charged a handling fee of 12.5 per cent whereas a handling fee of ten per cent will be charged is the seller's monthly spend exceeds £2,500

'It is astonishing that an average pharmacy has approximately ten per cent dead stock lying within the premises. Therefore, SigXchange provides an opportunity for pharmacies to get rid of that dead stock and make money on it rather than leaving it there.'

Shah also summarised the world of generics and the issues surrounding the industry.

'Approximately £1.4bn taken out in last four years and almost a billion pounds directed to services which means the balance is lost forever. It started with 478 products and now stands at 515 with the minimum price of generic being 80p (subject to revision). Approximately 110 Category M product above brands. Cat M, in fact, is three to six months behind market prices and there is no way we can have a generic product less than 80p after Cat M.'

The concluding message given out by both presenters was to encourage pharmacists to take time out of their routine tasks and see what is really happening in the world of pharmacy. With pharmacists stuck dispensing and undertaking admin tasks, it will not be possible for them to undertake all that.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business June 2009

The love affair

Prakash Patel fell in love with pharmacy as a young customer. Moving from Zambia to England to pursue his love further, Patel now owns four east London pharmacies. From a youngster to the Pharmacy Business Entrepreneur of the Year 2008, he shares all with Faras Ghani...

Owning his own pharmacy at the age of 21, that was the top entry on Prakash Patel's to-do list as a pre-reg. Not many aim for such heights in early days and the ones that do are not taken seriously by sellers. Fortunately for Patel – aided in part by his determination and conscientiousness – one seller did, albeit for an east-London pharmacy, and Patel has not looked back since.

'I was still young at that time and based in north London so when I spoke to people about this opportunity in east London, I had cold water poured over it and I was advised to stay away from it,' Patel said. 'However, pharmacy is a patient-oriented profession and east London was poorly supplied. The prices were much lower compared to the north and since I did not have a huge capital base, I wanted to buy something that I could effectively build up.'

Building up his dreams from a young age, Patel was particularly influenced by the clean and professional image a pharmacy had. Visiting several pharmacies in his native Zambia, Patel was impressed the pharmacist wearing a white coat and decided on a 'career that was well-respected and something that the public looked up to'.

It was not easy fulfilling his dreams though, as Patel explained. Following his move to the UK in 1974, the school he attended did not offer GCSEs and despite continued insistence, Patel, together with five other adamant individuals, would need at least 75 per cent in their mock exams to be put forward for GCSEs by the head-teacher.

'I knew that I had a very slim chance of achieving what I wanted without GCSEs but luckily that all went through fine until my pre-reg year when I was quite short on funds. The fact that I also wanted to buy my own pharmacy within six months of qualifying, I worked at another pharmacy till midnight, saving as I earned.

'You had to put down 30 to 40 per cent of equity down to buy a pharmacy and even at that age, I was quite committed. I would go through listings to pick out interesting ventures in the areas I was looking at but at times had to clarify my genuine interest to the sellers due to my age.'

With a keen eye for business from a young age as well, Patel knew early on that in order to reach the goals, he would need a lot of capital and would have to put aside majority of his earnings. 'Luckily, I was a single person at that time and did not have many expenses so was quite easily able to put away a chunk of what I was earning at that time. '

The helpful interest rates at that time also helped Patel and when he turned up for his appointment with the bank manager with his business projections ready, his 75 per cent loan application was approved. 'I told him I had done my projection and by that the business will definitely be able to support the loan . And all the hard work paid off then.'

Although his first acquisition, and the following three later on, was based in East London, Patel was convinced that he had what it would take for the business to flourish – an interest in caring for the patients. Which is probably the reason why Patel now owns four pharmacies, all based in east London. While he runs around taking care of all four, he has ensured effective delegation while keeping his clinical knowledge in constant use.

'I have managers at all four of my pharmacies but since they do five days a week, I'm on the shopfloor during their time off. I get to stay in touch with what I learn at pharmacy school while also planning ahead for the businesses. I actively actively participate on the PCT and am also the vice chair for the Propharm group. So all in all, I keep myself busy and am quite excited in the direction this profession is taking.'

Excited and confident, which is why Patel has got his family involved in the pharmacy profession. His eldest daughter and her fiancé are both pharmacists. The second daughter is currently studying at pharmacy school and his nephew, niece, and nephew's wife are all in the same profession. 'It probably has become a family business,' Patel joked.

But he is also quite excited at how pharmacy is progressing through the current climate, from the talks of a new body to all the other changes taking place.

'The profession is moving forward as a service-based profession. The ones able to lock into services will be successful. Pharmacists one of the most trusted professionals according to a recent survey and If we believe in that, that is our biggest asset. To achieve success, it is important that pharmacists go out and be the face of pharmacy, not be stuck dispensing but be in the front where patients can see them.'

It is perhaps the inclination towards being seen that led Patel towards applying for, and winning, the Pharmacy Business Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2008.

'Our pharmacy won an award for our stop-smoking service as we were putting up consistent figures in the area. One of the PCT members nominated us for the Awards and I didn't know I was going to win as the competition was really healthy. However, upon receiving the Award I was really chuffed as it was a pleasant surprise, something I really treasure quite a lot and it did put a big cherry on top of what I've achieved so far.'

Patel offers free MURs and prescription collection and drop-services at all his pharmacies, and have been providing the latter since the 1970s. 'From a person on a bicycle, we now have three delivery drivers and provide free drop-offs. The patient can either phone us or tell us what surgery the prescription is at, we pick it up..get it delivered in a radius of five miles. It's mostly for eldery patients who can't venture out to pharmacies regularly or for the working ones, who are at work till late in the evening.'

Offering free MURs not only helps us achieve the target of 400, but also allows us to interact with customers and offer the best advice and guidance. The PCT has given some sort of criteria: Those on medical conditions, long-term conditions, where pharmacists intervention would be good. Those are the ones we concentrate on and last year we achieved target of 400 at all our pharmacies.

'We have also included an incentive for our pharmacists as well which obviously helps the whole process. It orks well with counter staff as well and the patient benefits in the end too.'

'While our pharmacists are really busy, we've allocated different tasks to different staff so that frees up the pharmacists' time and that allows them to undertake the MURs.'

Despite having the business, its development, training and staff to look after, Patel still gets time to look into how the profession is shaping up, and support Arsenal in their home games as well.

Speaking of the new professional body, Patel agreed that it had caused 'a lot of uncertainty in the profession and has brought a lot of worry.'

'I think whatever happens, it's important that leaders in the pharmacy field get behind the people who are in the know. There is some apathy in the profession as well and voting was quite poor in the last elections. It's imp that each pharmacist takes responsibility in the profession if they want to take the profession forward. We need right leaders with the right vision, to steer the profession forward.'

Confident and in love with his profession? Most definitely. 'It's a profession I'm absolutely keen for. In another life I'd probably come back as a pharmacist as well.'

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business June 2009

Change of guards

Tony Mottram joined Numark last November as its commercial director, a new role created by the interim managing director John D'arcy as he thought the business needed a 'second role for it to be effectively operational'. Not a pharmacist by profession, Mottram joined the pharmaceutical industry as a sales representative for Pfizer at the age of 22 and has spent the last 18 years working his way up at Ivax, Ashbourne Pharmaceuticals and Napp Pharmaceuticals, where he spent ten years.

Trained as a medic after joining the forces, it seemed a natural fit to follow a pharmaceutical path, according to Mottram. Wanting to go into a sales role, he also spent a few months at a bank, coming up to grasp with the requirements of the finance world before joining Pfizer.

Appointed commercial director at Numark – to ensure that the business operated the right way commercially, as he put it – Mottram answers questions related to the Nucare takeover, Numark's business model, how life will change following his promotion and the benefits pharmacists can obtain by joining hands with him.

The Adolf Merckle suicide made headlines soon after you joined Numark. Was that a difficult period for you and the business and was Numark as a business affected greatly?
The loss of anybody will have an impact on certain parts of the business at a senior level. However, we are a credible business in the UK as well as being sustainable. Phoenix might change ownership in the future, nobody can say yes or no at this point in time but I can confirm that it's a solid business as things stand.

Following your appointment as the managing director, how will your job change on a day-to-day basis?
It's a bit difficult to say what changes will be made right now. John D'arcy and myself, we worked closely and he gave me a brief of what he wanted. My job is in the title: managing director. I need to manage the business and ensure it heads in the right director and making sure people are directed in order to deliver what is required. As we move forward, I'll be working with the Numark board to ensure we head in the right direction.

When I joined, the team at Numark underwent a review of where we're at. We have clear aims, what is it that we're about and what we want to do. Each department has tactics that seem to be working well. I don't think I need to change anything if we're going in the right direction. There are a few things to develop and that is all work-in-progress. Our aim to create a profitable and sustainable independent pharmacy. But, as before, I won't be making any changes in the way this business is run as I believe we're heading in the right direction, aptly depicted by our membership numbers which are at its peak right now.

Phoenix took over Nucare in 2007. How easy was the transition for Nucare members and what percentage of members did you manage to bring into Numark?
We managed to retain 33 per cent of Nucare membership into Numark. For me it's irrelevant whether you're a Nucare member or a Numark member. You need to belong to an organisation which is going to lead and support you in the delivery of your business model. If you can't have a commercial deal with the wholesaler and if you're not prepared to move the wholesaler, then it is what it is.

A lot of pharmacists cited high membership fee as a reason for not joining Numark. How would you justify the £100 per month fee?
The £100 membership fee has been in existence for a long time. Nucare member wishing to join Numark were given discount but that was through a rebate. This fee is paid by 2,067 members and the members who access a range of services will get about £1,400 in rebate. You need to access what we offer in order to justify the fee. If you merely pay the fee and not engage and utilise what we can do for your business then you're not going to benefit.

How would you then convince pharmacists to join Numark?
The answer's quite straightforward. Independent pharmacy is in a massive place of change. It is very difficult at times to see the opportunity in front of you and develop your business locally to make it happen for you.

Numark offers a range of services and solutions which you need to engage in to maximise benefits. The more you access Numark, the fitter you and your team will become. It's a difficult time for pharmacy and we provide strategies that you can implement locally in order to be successful.

Our USP is the pedigree of delivery. We have sustainability in the business and have delivered to our members Some members leave because they don't see value in being a member. That is because they do not access what we do and provide. On the other hand, we get new members because they see a potential of what we can do for them.

Is there assistance provided to members when it comes to tendering for services?
We have provided assistance with a number of members on an individual basis, and with success. Our professional services team does a lot to support members who are in a position to commission for positions. It's something that as a model we're developing to offer to a broader base of the membership. Tender assistance includes key therapy areas such as vascular checks, diabetes care and weight management.

We will support individual members with individual service submission or tenders. The key thing is that we have members who understand how to develop a service and we have members who have a will to develop services but don't know how to do it. So we can help both types.

Merchandising has been cited as a key issue for pharmacists, something they don't pay much attention it. Does Numark offer support in that area as well?
Merchandising is indeed a key area. Pharmacists need to make themselves appealing on the high street and that is what will attract customers inside the shop. Once inside, whether it's consumer or around prescription side, the merchandising has to be spot on as providing relevant products in the right areas will increase basket spend. That is part of our role, to help improve the OTC element.

You mentioned appealing to customers on the high street. Has re-branding from a chemist to a Numark store helped increase sales?
Yes, it has. We collect data for re-branding and it not only increases the OTC sales but also affects prescription side of things as well. The model would suggest that the change has attracted new customers that have turned into patients. We have a team of pharmacy development managers whose job is to do a full business review for any member who wants to pay for that service. Out of that review, they'll get an action plan which will be marketing commercial and services. We analyse the complete pharmacy environment to competitors, surgeries and how the existing customers perceive the business to be. This business review is like a ten-step plan to improve their overall profitability and sustainability.

Do you get regular feedback from members and do you get time to visit them personally?
I have undertaken 64 member visits in the last three months. One thing I said when I joined Numark was that I'd be accessible as I work for the members. I don't sit in office and become unapproachable. I will see them and sit down with them and help them and my team make their business work for them. I need to be visible to members and I am. However, I also have a responsibility to direct the business in the right way so there might be a change in the number of visits undertaken as I am only one man. Having said that, I have a very strong and professional team with a very strong skill-set. Pharmacists aren't scared to approach me, and they shouldn't be. They pay a membership fee and if they knock on our doors and ask for help, we will do our best to provide that.

Does staff training come as part of Numark membership?
Training has been part of Numark's pedigree for years and years. We have always been a strong organisation in leading, training and developing people. We hold 32 training events per year which are free to members and their teams. The focus of these events lies on relevant skill-set and business needs. We give the owners some skills and knowledge to effect changes. They know how to dispense. Where they need help is being a manager, a coach and a leader. Sometimes they need help stepping back, refuse the urge to fix all the problems themselves.

Do members have a choice to buy from other places or are they restricted by a membership contract?
Membership is about choice. Our job commercially is to negotiate preferred deals with suppliers and source those deals. The member always has a choice where to buy their products from. But if we've done the right thing by negotiating a good commercial deal that gives profitability to members and business growth to manufacturers and suppliers, then it's a no-brainer they should be buying form our deal. If they choose not to then it goes back to what do I get from my £100.

We have compliant members who make in excess of £8, 500 per month in terms of rebate. They understand the model and deals we have and they lock into it. We negotiate on behalf of the members and we work for them.

What advice then would you give to pharmacists having problems in the current economic conditions?
Have a plan. If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else. You need to find time to make a plan. Make sure you have the right staff, you train them well and develop them in the right way.

You don't need to constantly change plans. Have one eye on the climate and acclimatise to it. Only engage with new services if they are relevant to you, for example there is no point jumping on a bandwagon for diabetic service if you don't have diabetic patients. You need to asses whether it's relevant or not to your locality.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business June 2009

Younis Khan’s men — poor starters, great finalists

Second chances are rare in sports. Unimaginable, especially in the shortest form of international cricket. Seldom is a poor performance overturned by sparks of brilliance to win matches. Rarely is an array of poor fielding displays — that continuously let opposition off the hook — followed by shattered stumps that pulls them right back. It simply belies all cricket ethos and sits against the norm.

But the Pakistan team was never the one to bow to ethos and adhere to norm. It seemed an eternity to wake them from the Bhurban conditioning camp and the many Selfridges’ trips. The load-shedding, it seemed, had tampered with the veins and an early exit loomed as the team took to the field in their first warm-up.

As the team progressed unconvincingly, temperament went astray with the bat in hand. Until Younis Khan, followed by Kamran Akmal, came of age. Accuracy seemed a lost art with the ball and overstepping was adopted as norm. Until Umar Gul treated opposition with swinging spaghetti. The fielding display went from poor to wretched. Until Shahid Afridi galloped towards long-on boundary, clutching onto his prize from the heavens.

And out of nowhere, against expectations and predictions, it all seemed to fall in place. Just like that. Younis had issued repeated reminders that Pakistan have always been slow starters and will pick up pace with each victory. Never had that statement been more aptly illustrated on the field as the men in green saved their best for the best, South Africa at Trent Bridge, in an attempt to appear in their second successive final. Pakistan’s route to the semi-final is as much courtesy a favourable draw as spurts of brilliance. Skipper Younis and Intikhab Alam, the team’s coach, shared plans that contradicted, and fouled any hopes the fans had of a decent performance by their idols. While Younis wanted stability at the top, Intikhab preferred aggression. Neither seemed to work and the experiments that the team management vociferously pointed out would lead to an improved performance landed flat, failing to make an impression.

Not so much the cornered tigers, but cornered nevertheless.

And out of nowhere, as Salman Butt was put out of his misery by the team management, Akmal repaid Younis’ trust and gamble in him. Shahzaib Hassan deposited a few in the stands but it looked as if the injury to all-rounder Yasir Arafat, and the subsequent arrival of Abdul Razzaq, brought with it a change of fortunes and a bag of miracles.

Gul seemed to realise he still had it in him to bowl fast and swing the ball. Young Aamir was the surprise packet while Saeed Ajmal left doubts about the legality of his action behind and continued to flux batsmen.

Afridi, first-ball slogs and rash stroke-play aside, remembered he has improved as a bowler of late. Then came his batting which was, indeed, a revelation with a renewed vigour to occupy the crease and accumulate runs for his team. And Akmal, as a wicket-keeper with no Danish Kaneria in the side, held onto catches and created world records.

Younis, who had up until the semis shouldered batting responsibilities, sat back concentrating and scripting the perfect plot. Tweaking Shakespeare, with mirth and laughter let the greatest prize come, hoped the captain.

The route to success, surprisingly, was smooth off the field as well. With Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in a different time-zone, the team rather became a damp squib as far as the sniffing paparazzi were concerned. No curfew-breaking clubbing nights, no training scuffles, no bat-fencing at team-mates, no blazing-up to speak of.

Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain who was sidelined for much of the tournament due to injury, did try and help matters by blurting out desperate excuses to justify the humiliation received at the hands of Umar Gul. To no avail, unfortunately as his ‘informal inquiry’ for the match referee to look into the state of the magic white ball was shooed away and buried forever.

There were also reports of a rift in the camp, as Abdul Qadir, post-resignation, decided to reveal all. But rifts have been omnipresent in the dressing room since time began and that, on most occasions, failed to affect the combined performance on the field. Beffiting, perhaps, was the presence of Shoaib Malik, who Qadir would have omitted from the squad had he been able to ‘do things his own way’, in the middle as the winning run was scored.

Younis on the eve of the tournament made it clear that he wanted to face India in the final and beat them this time. That changed as short balls grew tall on the Indian batsmen. He then wanted it to be South Africa but in the end, it did not really matter to him.

As the light training sessions failed to replicate the growing tension among fans, the players, especially the youngsters, had realised destiny was a tiger tamed.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in DAWN newspaper, June 26, 2009

Players repaid the trust and confidence I reposed in them: Younis

It was a script that bellowed splendour as the victorious captain sat down to answer questions for one last time. Perhaps God had given Younis Khan a sneak preview on how the World Cup would curtail on the sun-drenched afternoon when the script was crafted, for he gave a look of a man who knew the ending even before the directors had started casting.

There was no fits of laughter, no continued references to his favourite word ‘fun’, the eyes were not popping out, he termed the sport cricket and not WWF and as he sat draped in the green flag, he wore a calm expression that merely said ‘I told you so’. And as the world stood dumbfounded by the revival that led to the final victory, Younis alluded to the confidence he had in his team from the start and how the win was not a complete surprise.

“Before the start of the tournament, I had labelled ourselves and West Indies as semi-finalists and people laughed at me when I said it,” Younis said. “Even when we failed to perform in the warm-up match, I had complete faith in my players and I knew that we have special something that would take us through.

“Everybody knows we are slow starters but my players knew we needed to win this tournament to lift our nation. It is indeed a huge achievement for us and I’m glad to have given this gift to our troubled nation.”

The win, as Younis pointed out, carried extra meaning as Pakistan had lost the last two finals played on this ground: World Cup 1999 and Natwest Series 2001, both against Australia. Pakistan also lost the inaugural World Twenty20 final against India and with survivors from each of those matches present in the squad, the captain’s plea not to succumb to pressure and apply the finishing touch was heard.

“I chatted to Razzaq and Afridi prior to the final and asked them to hold their nerves and apply the final touch. And I think it worked as Afridi batted sensibly — he even took singles and twos! — and the senior guys performed.’

As he talked of the senior players — adding his own name to the list repeatedly — Younis also took time out to remember Bob Woolmer, the former Pakistan coach who died following Pakistan’s early exist in World Cup 2007, and dedicated the win to the ‘father figure of the team who I owe this trophy and captaincy to’.

“He did well for the team whole incharge, especially me as an individual. If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have been the captain of Pakistan so credit must go to him for our achievement. I can just see how happy he would’ve been had he been sitting here right next to me.”

Not forgetting the performing youngsters in the team, Younis sent out a plea to nations to resume playing in Pakistan. It will, according to Younis, not only provide a distraction for the terror-struck nation but will also promote the sport among the Pakistani youth.

“Everybody is following Twenty20 cricket and since we are the champions now, I request all the countries to come to Pakistan. The law and order situation is not good but that’s not our fault and we need international cricket in Pakistan to motivate youngsters, especially at school and college level and I believe this will help build new cricket structure in Pakistan.” While that plea is not the one to be answered in the foreseeable future, by lifting the trophy Younis not only ensured a temporary grin on the Pakistan faces, but also fulfilled his personal dream of following in the steps of Imran Khan as a world-cup winning captain but issued a warning that there exists a world outside Twenty20.

“Imran Khan was my hero and I had dreamt of lifting the World Cup and being remembered as a world-cup-winning captain after I leave the sport. Although it brings me a lot of pleasure to have accomplished that, we must perform well in the coming series and ensure all the hard work does not go to waste.

“I still believe Twenty20 is a fun game and a great entertainment factor and we came out emphatic winners [by eight wickets]. However, if we promote it too much then there will be no Test matches and therefore we must do something about this [Twenty20].”

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in DAWN newspaper June 23, 2009

Pakistan fans

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published on Cricinfo June 21, 2009

Writing cricket

Mihir Bose’s areas of expertise reach far and wide into accountancy, engineering, football, Bollywood and, surprisingly, Memons. Born in Kolkata in the year of the Partition but raised in Mumbai — the city he calls his hometown — Mihir, author of over 20 books and winner of many awards, shares his thoughts with Books & Authors on cricket, the history of the subcontinent, his desire to be a ‘great writer’ and becoming the first sports editor at the BBC.

How did an interest in journalism and writing develop?
MB: Despite belonging to a business-minded family, I’d always wanted to be a writer even though my father thought there was no money in it. I was growing up in an independent India which was heavily influenced by Nehru, so it had to produce engineers and scientists. I came to England to become one too, but switched to accountancy since it would give me time to write a novel that would make me famous. It didn’t quite work out that way but I broke into journalism via commercial radio after qualifying as an accountant.

I went back to India a couple of times, worked as a stringer for the Sunday Times and even got commissioned to write a book on Keith Miller. However, there came a time when I decided that if I wanted to become a writer — and I couldn’t become one in India — I had to resign from my job as an accountant. By then, I had also gotten a contract on a biography on Subhas Chandra Bose, an Indian nationalist who was termed a traitor. That was that. I’ve never looked back and I’ve been a full-time writer since October 1978.

What problems did you face in England while pursuing your dream?
MB: Though I was very aware of my colour and race, it took me a long time to get used to standing out. I came from quite a well-off background, but suddenly found myself not only doing my own dishes but made aware that I was different. Despite that — and the fact that I felt India was imprisoning me — England was a liberating place for me.

It was the place where I thought of becoming a great writer and where I would go to Soho and proclaim my genius. However, I realised that nobody wants to know me and to them I had come from a poor country and had a terrible name. I got assaulted while reporting on football and was chased down a train by a gang of hooligans. Even with all that, England gave me opportunities and the world we live in is a western world, which I’m very happy to be a part of. I prefer living here and am quite comfortable as the country has been very good to me.

Why the interest in sports, especially cricket?
MB: I read a lot about cricket. I’ve loved it as a kid and my father would let me practice as a radio commentator in front of guests so I grew up living cricket. Though I went to the same school as Sunil Gavaskar, I never played the game that well and wasn’t encouraged either. Because of my interest, I have written three books on cricket, including the only history of Indian cricket, as well as Maidan View, which examines the influence of cricket on Indian society. I’ve never seen a distinction between sports and writing.

If you write about sports, you’re not writing about kindergarten, you’re writing about life.

What books and authors have managed to influence you?
MB: I wanted to be a writer like V.S. Naipaul or Graham Greene, people like that were my heroes. I also wanted to be like Neville Cardus, a cricket writer. I was also influenced by books like C.L.R. James’ Beyond the Boundary in which cricket is used to describe West Indian society. I’m also fascinated by biographies and history books. I believe they take a certain thing about society and use it to explain the society itself.

You mentioned your love for history. What is your take on the history of subcontinent and why there exist major gaps and discrepancies in the scripts?
MB: The history of the subcontinent motivates me as it is the history of my people. You pick up a book on the great events of the world and you’ll find that they are all western events. It’s a fact that conquerors write history and hence there is no mention of any battles of Panipat.

There’s a dearth of great biographies, especially ones written by locals. For instance, most of the biographies of Gandhi are by non-Indians, and the only well-known biography of Jinnah is written by an American professor. The subcontinent retreats into fiction because it doesn’t want to confront reality. We either love people or hate them. An assessment of Jinnah can’t take into account that he was the most unlikely Muslim who drank whiskey and ate pork. However, he was a great leader, in fact one of the greatest leaders of the subcontinent, the man who created a country.

There is a fear of recognising, it’s an irrelevant way of thinking. It shows a lack of maturity, an almost-adolescent behaviour that your heroes have got to be gods. This is saying that all you write about the great man is the speeches he delivered and great letters he wrote, but not the man who lived his life.

India and Pakistan are like two Siamese twins trying to separate themselves but not quite managing to. Pakistan needs to stop comparing itself to India and thinking that India can’t go ahead of them. Pakistan has a greatness that the Indians don’t have and that is not accepting defeat. In cricket, Pakistan won a Test in England in 1954. It took India 17 more years to match that.

What projects would like to do in the future?
I would like to write a couple of novels and a major book about the subcontinent, particularly about India. I’d also like to write a book tracing my father’s journey which started as a young man in a village in Ramchandrapur (West Bengal) who gave up his job to join the freedom struggle and moved to Mumbai.

I also want to write a biography of Gandhi and Jinnah, especially as I was brought up to hate Jinnah but have come to admire him as a politician. We need more books on the communities living in the subcontinent and how they are progressing.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Books & Authors (DAWN newspaper) June 21, 2009