Boots is set to transform how it dispenses repeat prescription to customers with the launch of its first Regional Dispensing Hub this week. The innovative new 20,000 sq ft facility in Basingstoke, Hampshire, will make the repeat prescription ordering process faster and more seamless for customers in 150 stores in the South of England.  

The modern hub represents a hybrid between pharmacy and logistics, using state-of-the-art digital technology and automation to dispense repeat prescriptions centrally rather than in stores. Medicines will be delivered from the hub to stores within 24 hours of a prescription being issued, ready for customers to collect or for an onward journey to customers’ homes.  

By reducing the time spent on manual dispensing, pharmacy teams in stores can dedicate more time to customers, freeing up their time for providing advice and support and dispensing acute prescriptions more quickly. This expanded capacity will also allow pharmacy professionals to deliver a wider variety of healthcare services in-store, foster closer collaboration with local GPs, and continue to strengthen their clinical skills and expertise, providing even greater support to the communities they serve.  

A total of 50 new Boots roles will be created at the Basingstoke hub including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and dispensing operatives. As part of this, Boots will help those looking to kickstart a career in healthcare with a dispensing operative qualification through an NVQ Level 2 qualification.   

Anne Higgins, Pharmacy Director at Boots, said: “As the UK’s largest dispenser of prescriptions, we are excited to announce the opening of our first regional dispensing hub in Basingstoke. In addition to offering a faster, better service for our repeat prescription customers, this transformation is centred on empowering our talented pharmacy teams to spend more time directly with their customers – enhancing the care, expert advice and personal attention available in every store. 

“Warmly welcomed by our pharmacists, the regional dispensing hub allows them to further expand the healthcare services they can offer in the heart of their communities and provide even more opportunities to develop their clinician skills and advance their careers with us.  

“This development supports the government’s 10 Year Plan for the NHS, which is focused on moving healthcare away from hospitals and into communities, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. We look forward to opening more regional dispensing hubs across the UK to support our customers, colleagues and the NHS as we continue to broaden and modernise our pharmacy operations and services.”  

The opening of Boots’ first regional dispensing hub in Basingstoke represents a significant milestone in the health, wellness and beauty retailer’s pharmacy transformation journey. This programme aims to grow prescription items and healthcare services at Boots by improving the customer experience of accessing healthcare on the high street.  

As part of its transformation, in recent years Boots has made a range of enhancements to the pharmacy experience for customers, including adding the ability to digitally track their repeat prescription at every stage of its journey from order to collection.  

In addition, Boots has expanded the range of NHS and private healthcare services it offers to more than 180 in total.  All Boots pharmacies in England offer the NHS Pharmacy First service, the NHS Contraceptive service and NHS Blood Pressure Checks and Boots has also expanded its private vaccinations service to include RSV, COVID-19 and MMR.  

Anne Higgins continued: “Our ambition is to grow our pharmacy business by offering an unrivalled experience to customers - blending the expertise of our pharmacists with the latest technology. Our transformation journey is already making a significant difference to our customer satisfaction stores and we hope to see these continue to improve as we roll out further initiatives like regional distribution hubs.” 

The 150 stores in the South of England that will be supported by the regional distribution hub in Basingstoke will be gradually onboarded between now and April 2026. Boots plans to open more regional dispensing hubs in the future.