Pharmacy Solicitors
Pharmacies and pharmacists are at the heart of modern healthcare, playing a critical role in patient care, medication management and disease prevention.
To succeed in this fast-paced environment, pharmacists and pharmacy owners need a legal partner who understands the unique challenges of their profession and can offer forward-thinking solutions.
As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, pharmacies face increasing regulatory scrutiny, changing business models and new opportunities driven by technology and innovation.
We support independent pharmacies and larger pharmacy groups with expert legal advice tailored to the sector. Whether you're buying or selling a pharmacy, managing property matters, submitting or challenging an application relating to inclusion in the pharmaceutical list or dealing with regulatory issues like GPhC fitness to practice or change of ownership, we’re here to help.
Our experience also covers commercial contracts, dispute resolution, data protection, NHS regulations, GPhC and CQC processes, ensuring you have the right legal foundations in place.
With a clear, practical approach, we work alongside you to protect your business and help it thrive in a fast-changing healthcare landscape.
Our expertise
With deep expertise in pharmacy law, our team understands the unique challenges and opportunities facing pharmacy owners and operators. Our pharmacy solicitors don’t just offer legal advice, we take the time to understand your business and provide clear, practical solutions tailored to your needs.
What sets us apart is our commitment to your long-term success. By aligning our legal advice with your strategic objectives, we help you protect, grow and future-proof your pharmacy.
Our team advises on the following areas:
Navigating pharmacy regulations can be complex, but we’re here to help. Whether you need support with a change of ownership application, a pharmacy relocation or preparing for an inspection, we can provide practical guidance. If you are seeking to challenge the factual accuracy or findings of inspection reports, we can ensure you are best prepared to do so.
Disputes can be disruptive to your business operations. We can help you resolve a wide range of issues, from general commercial disputes and challenges to decisions relating to inclusion in the pharmaceutical list to claims against NHS BSA relating to payments/clawbacks/deductions and judicial review of public body decisions affecting your business. Wherever possible, we explore alternative dispute resolution options, such as negotiation, round table meetings and mediation, to achieve the best outcome efficiently.
Our employment law specialists provide a full range of employment services, from drafting employment documentation (including contracts of employment and service agreements) to guidance on TUPE processes and defending Employment Tribunal claims. In addition to the lawyers within VWV, Narrow Quay HR, our HR consultancy team, provide a flexible and practical range of cost-effective HR solutions to assist with day-to-day HR challenges.
Whether purchasing, leasing, refinancing or managing property portfolios we offer expert guidance on all your premises-related matters. This support can extend to premises development, premises sales and auctions. For leasehold premises, we can help you to manage your landlord and tenant relationship, from negotiating leases to documenting consents and pursuing any leasehold breaches and other disputes.
Strong commercial agreements help your pharmacy operate smoothly. We can support you with the full range of commercial contracts, including contracts for wholesale pharmacies, distributors and manufacturers.
Buying or selling a pharmacy is a significant step. We can support you with buying or selling a pharmacy business and can provide a range of services and support around this including pharmacy regulation, freehold and leasehold premises arrangements, contracts, due diligence, applicable GPhC, CQC and NHS requirements and staff transfers.
Handling personal data correctly is vital for your pharmacy. Our information law specialists can assist you to comply with data protection obligations, including drafting privacy notices and data sharing agreements, and assisting you to respond to subject access requests, freedom of information requests and data breaches.
We can provide advice and support in relation to the incorporation of your pharmacy business, which includes bespoke corporate governance documents such as shareholders' agreements and articles of association. We also offer a company secretarial service. We regularly advise on issues that may arise in connection with your company, such as director duties/conflicts, restructuring, debt recovery, insolvency, shareholder buyouts or shareholder disputes.
He is great - very efficient, effective, nice to work with and very knowledgeable.
Our work highlights
Pharmaceutical list appeal
We assisted a pharmacy client to appeal an ICB decision to allow a combined minor relocation and change of ownership application. The right of appeal was exercised pursuant to the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2023, via a referral to NHS Resolution.
Fitness to practise and counter fraud investigations
We assisted a pharmacy client subject to investigation by the General Pharmaceutical Council and NHS Counter Fraud Authority in relation to multiple alleged offences of fraud and dispensing errors. We assisted the client with the gathering of relevant evidence, advised as to their defences and the appropriate strategy for the interview under caution. The regulators ultimately preferred his evidence over the informants and took no further action. Any conviction or finding of misconduct would have impacted upon the ability of the client to continue as owner and superintendent pharmacist within their pharmacies and would have had wider ramifications for the employees across the branches.
Dispute resolution
Further to the division of a pharmacy business, we assisted our client to pursue a claim against his former business partner for a breach of the agreement reached regarding the division.
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