The pharmacy inside Putneymead surgery has closed. Patients collecting prescriptions should now go to Putney Pharmacy at 278 Upper Richmond Road, the independent pharmacy immediately to the left of the surgery as you face it from the street.
Paydens Pharmacy at 266A Upper Richmond Road shut at the weekend. A notice has confirmed the merger with Putney Pharmacy: prescriptions have transferred automatically and no action is needed by patients. “You can start collecting your prescriptions from Putney Pharmacy from now,” the notice reads.
The two pharmacies are roughly 10 metres apart. The practical change, for anyone who collected from Paydens, is to walk right rather than left as you leave the surgery.
The Paydens branch was a busy local resource. As well as dispensing prescriptions and selling over-the-counter medicines, it offered the NHS Pharmacy First service for minor illness, blood pressure checks, vaccinations, and medicine deliveries to housebound patients in the area. It also supplied multi-compartment compliance packs (pre-sorted weekly medicine dispensers) to patients who needed help managing their medicines.
Staff at the closing branch have been told they will continue in employment at Putney Pharmacy, moving across with the patient base.
The closure reflects serious financial difficulties at Paydens Group, the Kent-based chain that operated the branch. The company’s losses more than doubled to £13m in the year to April 2024, and it has been selling branches to meet commitments to its bank, HSBC. Its managing director, Dennis Pay, said the company had taken “decisive and highly effective action” to address its finances, including selling pharmacies. The number of branches on the company’s website fell from 128 to 99 in the year before the Putney closure.
Putney Pharmacy at 278 is a different kind of operation. It is family-owned and independent, established in 2011, and won Best Community Pharmacy of the Year in 2014. As well as dispensing NHS prescriptions, it offers a wide range of private services including a travel clinic, weight management, earwax removal, blood tests, and Vitamin B12 injections.
Putney Pharmacy at 278 Upper Richmond Road is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm, and Saturday, 9am to 2pm. It is closed on Sundays. Phone: 020 8788 2431.
