The pharmaceutical giant won an unopposed tender process for a £17 million contract to provide pharmacy services to Scotland’s 16 prisons in 2019 for three years, with the option of a 12-month extension.

As well as dispensing and clinical services, the contract included a particular focus on treating hepatitis C with antiviral drugs. The disease affects around one in five Scottish prisoners.

The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA), a non-profit organisation boasting 28,000 members across the UK, said pharmacists employed by LloydsPharmacy “have been advised that the company has not retendered for the contract to provide pharmacy services to the Scottish Prison Service”.

“As a result of LloydsPharmacy exiting the contract, those pharmacists may transfer to whichever employer takes over the service, or if their function does not transfer to a new employer they will be at risk of redundancy,” Aastatement published by the PDA said.

“Specific jobs become redundant when the needs of the business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where they are employed ceases or diminishes. Therefore, if a company no longer needs a pharmacist at a location at which a member’s employment was located due to a decision to exit the contract, that person is at risk of redundancy.”

The decision comes just one month after LloydsPharmacy announced it was closing all 237 of its outlets in Sainsbury’s supermarkets, citing fears of insufficient government funding for the industry.

A spokesperson for LloydsPharmacy refused to say how many staff were affected by the decisions to withdraw from the SPS and Sainsbury’s, but said: “LloydsPharmacy regularly reviews its pharmacy estate to ensure it is operating sustainably.

“As part of this, it recently took the difficult decision not to re-tender for the contract to provide pharmacy services to the Scottish Prison Service. It also recently confirmed that LloydsPharmacy is withdrawing from all Sainsbury’s branches over the course of 2023.

“LloydsPharmacy is working with all colleagues potentially affected by these changes and has underlined its commitment to support them through the process.”

In September, a letter from NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) procurement to health boards and prison governors highlighted an “ongoing issue” with LloydsPharmacy’s contract delivery. The NSS said the situation could “pose a risk to NHS boards and the Scottish Prison Service”.

The letter said upgrades to LloydsPharmacy's IT/patient medication record (PMR) system had led to problems.

“The new IT/ PMR system is considerably slower than its predecessor, which has led to significant delays in the supply of medicines, particularly repeat medicines, to people in prison,” the letter reads.

“Despite ongoing engagement with Lloyds, previous assurances for a return to business as usual have not materialised, and, in fact, the service has deteriorated further.”

A spokesperson for LloydsPharmacy said: “For a short period last year, LloydsPharmacy experienced a temporary disruption to the service it provides for the Scottish Prison Service. This has since been resolved and normal service is now in operation.”

LloydsPharmacy withdraws from Scottish prisons in wake of Sainsbury's decision