If you love a wee dram every now and then, you may have heard of Campbeltown in west Scotland. 

Known as “Whiskyopolis”, aka the whisky capital of the world, the small town was home to as many as 34 distilleries in its 19th century heyday. Only the Glen Scotia, Glengyle, and Springbank distilleries remain in the town now. 

But when two Boots pharmacies in the area merged, local pharmacist Zain Younis watched “chaos” unfold.  

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“There were queues, people waiting weeks for prescriptions, no continuity because they were getting in locum pharmacists all the time,” Younis tells C+D. 

Younis himself had been locuming in the Campbeltown Boots for eight years since qualifying, and says “when there were two pharmacies, services were fine”. 

With his fellow co-owners Syed Ali Kazam and Mohamed Idreece Khan, they opened Campbeltown Pharmacy in April 18 months after one of the Boots closed. 

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“I kept in touch with people who live there, and they said how this town always had two pharmacies, so there should be two. 

“We felt obligated to help in some way because the three of us all enjoyed our time there.” 

Promises 

When locuming in Campbeltown, Younis noticed how pharmacies were more relied upon in remote and rural areas, with doctor’s appointments hard to secure. 

Campbeltown is located in an awkward position on the Kintyre peninsula, with the Isle of Arran sandwiched between the town’s coast and mainland Scotland. 

It’s roughly a three-hour drive to Glasgow where Younis was previously, with the nearest large town Oban two hours in the car too. 

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Younis says a ferry to Campbeltown doesn’t run anymore, but there is a morning and evening flight each day from Glasgow airport, as well as a bus. 

One of the measures introduced to minimise the impact of a remote location was using multiple wholesalers to ensure stock issues became less of a regular occurrence. 

This was one of “a lot of promises” made to patients to regain their trust. 

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“We wanted to make sure we had enough stock so patients can get their prescriptions that day or the next. We’re not having as many stock issues as when we did locum there.” 

The nearest pharmacies outside of Campbeltown are a 45-minute drive away, while a couple of GP surgeries in the area have dispensing doctors.  

It makes access to services difficult, and with problems at the merged Boots store, Younis says patients had even been travelling to Glasgow for some vaccines or ear cleaning. 

Recognition 

Younis and one of his co-owners use their prescribing qualification to run clinics in the pharmacy and offer the Pharmacy First Plus services. 

“We specialise in ENT and any issues patients have with a chest or skin infection, they come to us first. The GPs have noticed the difference and we’re taking burden from them in treating minor things.” 

They have a steady micro suction service and have between 10 to 15 weight loss appointments each week, too. 

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“It’s such a rural area, so patients were having to wait an extra five or seven days for their injections when they got them online.  

“Because our services are face-to-face, patients prefer that. It’s a bit more personal. Online, they’re just filling in a bunch of questions. A lot of the time we have stock, so they feel it’s more efficient.” 

They deliver medication for free, but have resisted branching out to more futuristic delivery services. 

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“We haven’t felt the need to do drone deliveries because people on the islands have a dispensing doctor they can access. We do house calls because the elderly population in Campbeltown is quite large.” 

The success led Younis attending the Scotland’s Health Awards on November 6 in Edinburgh where he won the Pharmacist category. 

“I was over the moon! We were nominated by a few people in the town and pharmacists as well. I feel pharmacists play more of a vital role in a multidisciplinary team, becoming prescribers and patients going to Pharmacy First. 

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“So, I wasn’t expecting to win because I feel any one of the candidates could have won. I’m just happy we’re doing an amazing job at Campbeltown, and we’re recognised for that. 

“Although we’ve done a good job, we feel like there’s still quite a few things left that we can do.”