Goodbody Health: Independent pharmacy offers solution to NHS challenges (AQSE:GDBY)

Goodbody Health Inc. (AQSE:GDBY) Scientific Advisory Committee Member and Chair of the Pharmacy Focus Group Ian Strachan caught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss his background in the pharmaceutical sector, his role within the company, what the company stands for and what this means for an independent pharmacist and the sector as a whole.

Q1: Ian, you now have a chain of pharmacies and have contributed heavily to the pharmaceutical sector over the years. Can you just tell us more about your journey and perhaps tell us a little bit about being Chairman of the NPA?

A1: I never started off as a pharmacist, I was a forensic scientist for many years, they sponsored me to do pharmacy. I was also a schoolteacher for a while, taught on the GCSE syllabus and I’ve written a few books and been an advisor to the pharmacy industry. So I’ve been around quite a long time, but in my mid-fifties, I guess I went into ownership and I set up a small group of pharmacies, which situated across the Northwest.

What you were alluding to earlier on was that I was also Chairman of the National Pharmacy Association. Around about 2015, the government came forward with a consultation called ‘Cuts and efficiencies on Community Pharmacy’ and really what that meant was they wanted to take funding out of pharmacy and they wanted to transform the sector by taking out its talent, taking out its IP and placing it really into doctor surgeries and redefining the titles of pharmacies as clinical pharmacies

Our campaign to challenge some of those claims and challenge some of that direction of travel was very effective looking back on it and I was very much the figurehead around that at the time.

Q2: Now, part of your journey is a recent appointment to be Scientific Advisory Committee Member and Chair of the Pharmacy Focus Group at Goodbody Health. From your point of view, can you just tell us who Goodbody Health are and what they stand for?

A2: Well, as I see it, the company is about offering frontline healthcare services like venous blood extraction. We have phlebotomist services in communities because all the evidence points to the fact that when you bring providers together into the domains where people live, into their homes, into their dwellings, into their communities, then you improve the outcome.

This was really a big part of the rationale behind what are called independent commissioning services, whereby we’re bringing providers really to improve outcomes to the very people who use them and when you think of pharmacy, there isn’t a better example of healthcare providers being situated within them communities.

Goodbody, in many respects, in my view, is ahead of its time because it recognises that the NHS is at crossroads and that if we’re going to deal with the endless demands, not just upon services but upon funding and challenges for funding, then really people will have to take more responsibility, if you like, for their own healthcare provision. So, that will mean taking more responsibility for welfare, for the lifestyle, for the health choices and that’s a fact and really, it’s ahead of political thinking right now, although I do sense it’s changing.

Within this network of Goodbody pharmacies, the group and the data that it will gather and the success of this programme, which I’ve got no doubts about at all, will be invaluable in making the business case for pharmacy and phlebotomy services from communities.

Once and for all, we’ll be able to really put to bed the notion that pharmacy can’t deliver, is not clinical, so I very much see the company’s journey about continuing some of the work that we were involved in way back in 2015.

Q3: Can you just explain for us then your role within the company?

A3: I met Mark Howells a little while ago, I think it was a very good AIM dinner in London, a ball we put on there, and I was very impressed with him. I was very impressed with his belief and passion for independent pharmacy, he really does see independent pharmacy as a solution to many of these challenges facing the NHS. So, this is a guy right up my street, and he was prepared to not just talk about it but put money there.

My role in this is really as Chairman of the Pharmacy Focus Group, I am part of the Scientific board as well as Chairman of this group. Really, the board is about gathering together a group of like-minded pharmacy owners who are passionate about developing clinical services  and they will become the trailblazers, they will become the mentors, the leaders that will basically gather the evidence that will take this forward.

There’ll be about a thousand of these pharmacies recruited during the year through advertising, promotion, we’ll be seeing a lot more of Mark Howells, we’ll be seeing a lot more of these trailblazers who will be launching this and taking these people on this journey. It will be a journey of discovery, of private revenue streams, it’ll be a journey of independence from the NHS as well. That journey of discovery will bring together the vision for a wider engagement of independent community pharmacies in the NHS, and hopefully once and for all, will establish community pharmacies as a solution to so many of these challenges that are facing the NHS.

So, it’s early stages, we’ve already made a good start. We’ve got about eight pharmacies recruited to this board and we’re already developing the plans, the strategies and the training, because all these pharmacies will be trained up, in fingerprint testing, in finger prick extraction of blood and the analysis of those results, which will be integrated, of course, with GP surgeries when appropriate but, it’s a journey that I’m very excited about.

Q4: So, what does this mean to an independent pharmacist and I suppose to the sector as well?

A4: I think independent pharmacy has been on a crusade, a journey, pretty much since that consultation in 2016.

I see the Goodbody initiative here to bring these clinical frontline services to community pharmacies up and down the country, as a way of being able to influence that government thinking in a positive way. Being able to give them a credible evidence space to substantiate, not just the negotiations, but to be able to provide the living proof.

We’ve been on that journey, as I say, what that journey has lacked in the past has been credible armoury of clinical services that were adequately evidenced. This was something that I was driving for from 2016 so I do see this very much about cementing the future of independent pharmacy and helping once and for all to be able to establish our credentials to be that gateway, that doorway to community pharmacy and the health service.

Q5: As you bring on the thousand pharmacists throughout the year, do you think other pharmacists will want to get involved or can they get involved?

A5: Yes, I do think that community pharmacy will want to get involved, I think the whole idea about developing this pharmacy forum, the board, is to be able to be that trailblazer, to provide not just the evidence but to iron out and smooth out a plan that means this can be introduced and integrated with local doctors in a seamless way that makes that journey much easier.

One of the challenges to any service is preparation and investment in getting there. Goodbody Health are put the resource into this to be able to make that journey more seamless, it’s going to make it easier and it’s going to mean that community pharmacy is going to get a real step up in making this become a living, breathing service from community pharmacies.

I’m determined to make sure that when we do roll these plans out then community pharmacies will get all the support and help, and that will be going on a continual basis, in real time.

Goodbody Health Group Inc. is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), the Aquis Stock Exchange – Growth Market (AQSE) Apex segment, OTC Pink, and Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE), providing current and prospective shareholders with multiple platforms in which to buy and sell Goodbody Health Group Inc. stock under the EPIC codes: CSE: GDBY / AQSE: GDBY / FRA: 484 / OTC: SCNNF. Retail customers can trade via online brokers AJ Bell, Jarvis Investment Management, Interactive Investor and The Share Centre, alongside the extensive range of telephone broking service providers.

Click to view all articles for the EPIC:
Or click to view the full company profile:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Goodbody Health Inc.

More articles like this

Goodbody Health Inc.

Goodbody Health appoints George Thomas as new CEO

Goodbody Health Limited (AQSE:GDBY) has announced that Marc Howells has resigned from the Board as Chief Executive Officer, with immediate effect.  The Company wishes to thank Marc for his contribution to the Company. George Thomas, an

Goodbody Health Inc.

Good cholesterol may not protect against heart disease

For decades doctors have been telling their patients that high levels of HDL, otherwise known as “good cholesterol,” could protect them from heart disease. But a new study suggests that having a lot of so-called good

Goodbody Health Inc.

Andy Taylor’s terminal prostate cancer diagnosis

Heartbroken fans have shown their support for Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor after it emerged he’s battling cancer.  Bandmate Simon Le Bon broke the news on Sunday as he read out a letter from the guitarist and said Taylor

Goodbody Health Inc.

Symptoms of high cholesterol

High Cholesterol can be a silent development, making it all the more dangerous. But often, other parts of the body – like your feet or nails – can show some symptoms that may be indicative of

Goodbody Health Inc.

How to manage prediabetes and prevent diabetes

Prediabetes occurs when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not quite at the level of diabetes. High blood sugar levels occur in prediabetes when the body does not properly respond to insulin (a hormone that allows cells

Goodbody Health Inc.

How to spot the symptoms of prostate cancer

Talking (and reading) about cancer can be difficult, but did you know that one in eight men will get prostate cancer at some point in their life? It’s the most common cancer in men, but some most

Goodbody Health Inc.

High Cholesterol: What it means and how to treat it

Have you had your lipid panel checked recently? Were you told you have high cholesterol? If so, you are among approximately 94 million adult Americans with cholesterol levels over normal ranges. This condition, referred to as dyslipidemia

Goodbody Health Inc.

Prostate cancer symptoms and treatment: What to check for

Bill Turnbull’s campaigning saved lives and encouraged “thousands and thousands” of men to come forward for prostate cancer testing, experts say. The broadcaster died from the disease, at the age of 66. When Turnbull revealed his

Goodbody Health Inc.

Symptoms of prediabetes

Approximately 38% of adults and 28% of children in the United States have prediabetes, a health condition associated with abnormally high blood sugar levels.1 While blood sugar (glucose) levels are elevated in prediabetes, they are not high enough

Goodbody Health Inc.

Goodbody Health wins distribution contract

Goodbody Health announced that that it has signed a contract with Tasso Inc, the leading provider of convenient, clinical grade blood collection solutions, for the UK pharmacy and wellness market. Tasso produces a signature line of

Goodbody Health Inc.

Goodbody Health signs distribution contract with Tasso

Goodbody Health Inc (AQSE:GDBY) has announced that it has signed a contract with Tasso Inc, the leading provider of convenient, clinical grade blood collection solutions, for the UK pharmacy and wellness market. Tasso produces a signature

Goodbody Health Inc.

6 Simple steps to a happy, healthy heart

Heart health is really important, but it’s not just about taking the right supplements. It’s important to follow this emotional health advice, too It is interesting how many people shun emotional health advice. They believe that heart health

Goodbody Health Inc.

Kenny Logan: Rugby hero reveals prostate cancer shock

Former Scotland international Kenny Logan has revealed his “huge shock” at being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Logan, who won 70 caps for his country, was given the news in February. “It’s hard because when you’re told

Goodbody Health Inc.

Unusual signs and symptoms of raised cholesterol

Many people only become aware for the first time that they have a high cholesterol level, when they are admitted to hospital with a heart attack Unfortunately, there are usually very few clinical signs of raised

Goodbody Health Inc.

Understanding prediabetes

Prediabetes is a diagnosis where your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered diabetes. There are a lot of misconceptions and a general lack of concern around this condition

Goodbody Health Inc.

Goodbody Health H1 revenue 52% higher than 2021

Goodbody Health Inc (AQSE:GDBY) has announced its half year 2022 unaudited Interim Financial Statements for the six months to 30 June 2022. The revenue at £7.40m was £2.55m higher than the comparative period in 2021. As