Views From The Profession: Q&A with Sam Patel, Day Lewis Plc

Sam Patel is the Executive Director of Day Lewis Plc alongside his siblings, Jay and Rupa Patel. Day Lewis is a national, award-winning community pharmacy group, founded in 1975. It remains a fully family-owned business that comprises over 250 pharmacies in the UK.

As part of our Pharmacy Market Review 2025 report, Jonathan Board (Head of Pharmacy, Christie & Co) spoke with Sam about his views on the sector and where the challenges and opportunities lie.

Jonathan: How do you assess the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) that was announced back in March?

Sam: The CPCF update in March marked welcome progress, particularly through its ongoing support for Pharmacy First and the growing recognition of pharmacy’s clinical role. However, it still falls short of addressing the sector’s core sustainability challenges. Crucially, the recent publication of NHS England’s Economic Analysis of NHS Pharmaceutical Services, conducted independently by Frontier Economics and IQVIA, confirmed what we’ve been saying for years: the sector is underfunded and in need of a sustainable long-term funding model. The analysis showed that the mean full economic cost to operate the network exceeds £5 billion, a significant gap versus the sector’s current allocations.

The 2025/26 settlement, while delivering a meaningful uplift, was only for a single year, and much of that increase was absorbed by National Insurance and National Minimum Wage changes. Looking ahead, especially in the context of NHS England’s new 10-Year Plan, the CPCF must evolve into a framework that properly supports pharmacy’s role in prevention, urgent care, medicines optimisation, and long-term condition management. The ambitions of the plan simply won’t be realised without a thriving community pharmacy network. From April 2026, we need a funding model that enables confident investment in our workforce, infrastructure, and innovation to meet these goals.

Jonathan: Where do you see Pharmacy First developing over time, and where are the opportunities?

Sam: Pharmacy First has the potential to be a cornerstone of the new NHS, but only if we are bold enough to expand it and fully integrate it into the wider system. The public response has been overwhelmingly positive. Patients value fast, local access to clinical care, and our teams have consistently delivered safe, high-quality consultations. Yet some challenges remain, notably, inconsistent referral patterns from GP surgeries, which impact our ability to meet thresholds in some regions.

For Pharmacy First to become a default care pathway, we need updated triage and digital referral tools in GP practices and 111 services that routinely guide patients into pharmacies. The opportunity now is to broaden the scope, to cover more conditions, expand the use of PGDs, and ultimately support independent prescribing. These enhancements align directly with NHS England’s 10-Year Plan, which places community pharmacy at the heart of delivering same-day care, relieving pressure on GPs and A&E, and improving health access in deprived areas. To realise this, we need targeted investment in training and digital infrastructure, including interoperable booking systems and proper feedback loops into NHS records. Done right, Pharmacy First could evolve into the front door of a more agile, preventative, and integrated model of primary care

Jonathan: What are the main challenges for you as an owner of a substantial estate on a day-to-day basis?

Sam: Operating a large estate like Day Lewis brings scale benefits, but also significant complexities. The biggest challenge is balancing local flexibility with central consistency. Each community we serve has unique health needs, yet we must deliver high-quality, standardised care across all locations. Workforce remains a critical issue. Recruitment and retention are tough, particularly in rural and coastal areas.

While we’ve invested in career pathways, technician training, and our Joint Venture model to attract and retain top talent, a coherent, national workforce strategy is still missing. Meanwhile, operational pressures continue to mount - from concession pricing and clawbacks, to medicine shortages and administrative burdens. These issues are more than just inefficiencies; they chip away at team morale and long-term sustainability. Addressing these challenges is not just good business, it’s essential to realising the NHS 10-Year Plan, which relies heavily on community pharmacy to expand clinical services and absorb more of the frontline care burden. But, to do that, we need the right structures in place, particularly funding and workforce stability, to sustain innovation and growth.

Jonathan: What are you most excited about in pharmacy, and what do you think will have the best outcomes for patients?

Sam: What excites me most is pharmacy’s growing clinical identity. Our teams are no longer seen purely as dispensers - they are educators, problem-solvers, and, increasingly, clinicians. The shift from transactional to relational care is gaining momentum, and patients are the clear beneficiaries. Technology is enabling that shift; automation is freeing up Pharmacists’ time, and better PMRs and digital tools are streamlining workflows.

As we integrate more deeply into NHS systems, the vision of joined-up care becomes a reality. We’ve also seen increased demand for private services - a trend that complements NHS delivery, especially where NHS access is stretched. At Day Lewis, our private weight management service has been hugely popular, and I’m proud of how our teams have responded, offering high-quality, safe, and accessible care while continuing to deliver for NHS patients. Our Joint Venture Programme is another exciting development. It gives Pharmacists the opportunity to co-own up to 49% of their pharmacy, rewarding leadership and aligning incentives. This model builds stability, fosters innovation, and empowers Pharmacists to meet both NHS and private demand with pride and ownership.

Jonathan: If you could change one thing in the pharmacy sector, what would you prioritise to see the biggest impact?

Sam: If I could change one thing, it would be the funding model - moving to a blended structure that rewards both volume and value. The current system remains overly focused on items dispensed, which fails to capture the full breadth of what modern pharmacy delivers. The independent economic analysis published by NHS England reinforces this. It shows that nearly half of pharmacies are operating at a loss at the EBITDA level, and most are underfunded relative to their service delivery costs. This is not sustainable.

A reformed funding model must include core funding for service readiness, fair medicine reimbursement, and outcome-based payments for clinical interventions. It should also ensure a minimum income floor for pharmacies in deprived or low-footfall areas. Crucially, this change is not about boosting margins; it’s about securing patient access. Without it, the ambitions of the NHS 10-Year Plan - from same-day care and prevention, to tackling health inequalities - will simply not be achievable. With the right financial model in place, pharmacy can step confidently into its expanded role and be a pillar of the NHS for decades to come.

To find out more about the UK pharmacy sector, read our ‘Pharmacy Market Review 2025’ report here.