Lincolnshire Co-op will become the newest member of the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) on 1 January 2025.

The business operates 43 pharmacies within Lincolnshire and the surrounding counties, as well as a pharmacy wholesale business.

Lincolnshire Co-op also owns a central fill pharmacy which now serves over half of its branches and has dispensed over 1.4m prescription items so far this year.

The wider family of businesses includes food stores, funeral and property services. It operates as a co-operative, sharing dividends with its 300,000 members and supports local community projects.

Its 43 pharmacies offer NHS services alongside private travel vaccinations and in some stores, podiatry.

Lincolnshire Co-op will become the first member of the CCA with fewer than 100 NHS-contracted pharmacies or equivalent scale – previously a prerequisite for membership.

But following 'a review of the association’s vision and mission earlier this year', CCA members 'agreed to make changes to the requirements for membership, allowing other business with operating models and values similar to their own, to join', a CCA spokesperson told The Pharmacist.

'The CCA and its members believe that opening the membership will benefit both existing and future members, and the wider sector,' the spokesperson added.

Malcolm Harrison, CCA chief executive, said the 'operation and scale of Lincolnshire Co-op means that it is a perfect fit for the CCA'.

He added: 'We are very excited to welcome new colleagues into our membership, so that we can share knowledge, experience and skills with each other, for the benefit of patients, the NHS, and the community pharmacy sector.'

And he said the CCA would continue to 'work to shape the future of community pharmacy and to create an environment where our members can operate in confidence, able to invest in their futures'.

Meanwhile, Alice Hare, head of care at Lincolnshire Co-op, said that joining the CCA felt like 'a good fit' for the multiple.

'We have worked with the CCA on specific areas of pharmacy practice for several years, and joining the CCA feels like the best way for us to continue with our collaboration and benefit from the exceptional support it provides members.

'The CCA represents multiple pharmacies so is a good for fit us, especially as we look to the future and how we can further invest to grow in pharmacy and support our communities with health and wellbeing services.

'I am looking forward to meeting the CCA’s other members in the coming weeks and months and contributing to their collective efforts to build the future for community pharmacy,' she said.