If you're running a community pharmacy in 2025, chances are you've faced this one: the door hasn't even finished closing behind your last customer before the next person is already asking about a repeat prescription, a flu jab, and whether you stock that cough syrup "in the blue box, not the red one." Meanwhile, the phone's ringing. Again.
Hiring another pair of hands might sound like the obvious answer. But here’s the truth. The staff shortage isn’t just an HR problem. It is a sector-wide symptom. Pharmacists are overextended. Support staff are stretched thin. And, ironically, the job of helping people is becoming harder because there aren’t enough people.
So what now? More shifts? More overtime? Or something smarter?
The Myth of Just One More Staff Member
It’s tempting to believe that hiring someone new would fix it all. Someone to handle deliveries. Someone to answer the phone. Someone to chase the GP for a missing script. But adding another name to the ROTA doesn’t eliminate the daily chaos. It often just redistributes it.
Besides, good pharmacy staff aren’t queueing up. Recruitment takes time, money, training and usually means even more work in the short term.
This is where technology comes in. Not as a flashy gimmick, but as a reliable co-worker that doesn’t call in sick or take annual leave.
Tech That Knows Your Pain Points
We’re not talking about complicated systems that require ten logins and a diploma to operate. We're talking about digital tools that do one thing well. They solve a problem you deal with every single day.
Need a way to manage delivery logistics without confusing spreadsheets or sticky notes? Want to notify patients when their prescriptions are ready without interrupting your workflow? Want stock tracking that doesn’t require you to run to the back room five times an hour?
This isn’t about replacing staff. It’s about giving your existing team the breathing room to actually do their jobs. Even better, it gives your patients the kind of experience that earns trust and keeps them coming back.
A Shift That Is Already Happening
This is not theoretical. Pharmacies across the UK are already changing how they operate by using delivery apps, prescription tracking, and automated communication tools. Some have reduced walk-ins for collections by 40%. Others have cut phone calls to a manageable level and reallocated that time to patient care.
This change is not just possible. It is already happening.
Where Onelivery UK Fits In
At Onelivery UK, we didn’t build a service for pharmacies in general. We built it for you. For the chemist who is juggling blister packs and barcode scanners. For the staff member staying late because someone missed their collection. For the small pharmacy that is tyred of competing with big chains who have entire logistics teams.
We handle the delivery part. Fast. Professional. Our tools make tracking, managing and updating deliveries feel like second nature. And your team can stop worrying about who is going to run parcels across the borough.
If you're still considering whether you need another employee or a smarter system, let us help you answer that question.
Because it’s not about having more people. It’s about having the right support behind the people you already have.
