Shirley Sena Walker

PhD Title: Finding the sweet spot: exploring the enabling conditions for harmonising care and commerce in England’s community pharmacies.

Community pharmacy, sometimes called retail pharmacy, makes up one of the four pillars of the primary care system in England, along with general practice, optical services and dentistry.

Community Pharmacy has a complex funding scheme which includes remuneration for dispensing medicines, sale of over the counter (OTC) remedies and provision of National Health Service (NHS) commissioned services to name a few. (Community Pharmacy England.

Community pharmacy occupies a hybrid position as both a healthcare provider and a commercial enterprise. This dual identity creates longstanding tension: pharmacists are required to deliver safe, person‑centred care while simultaneously ensuring the financial viability of their businesses.

This study responds directly to these challenges by examining whether care and commerce can coexist in community pharmacy and identifying the factors that enable practitioners to reach a “sweet spot” where both domains operate in harmony.  

Community Pharmacists often face clashes between what patients need and what the business expects, especially in commercial or target‑driven settings.

The study seeks to understand how pharmacists navigate the dual demands of delivering high‑quality, person‑centred care while meeting commercial and operational requirements, and how these dynamics vary across different organisational contexts.  

Supervised by Dr Trudy Thomas, Dr Sukvinder Bhamra and Dr Nicola Tyers.

• General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)
• Company Chemists Association (CCA)
• Community Pharmacy Kent