STAFF have spoken of their shock and sadness after the planned closure of a supermarket pharmacy was brought forward by around six weeks.

In January earlier this year, LloydsPharmacy announced it would be closing its branch at the Sainsbury's supermarket in Venables Road, Northwich.

According to the pharmacy chain the closure, originally planned for July, came following a strategic review ‘in response to changing market conditions’.

But, this week the pharmacy closed to the public on Wednesday, June 7, leaving staff to tie up loose ends before the outlet shuts for good today.

Branch manager Corinne Thomas, from Northwich, described the closure as the end of an era.

The 43-year-old mum-of-five said: "It was a shock to find out we were going to close in July but to have it brought forward by six weeks, it hasn’t given us time to get used to the idea from Saturday onwards, we’ve not got a job.

"It definitely an end of an era. It’s really sad, not just for us, but for our regular patients who have been coming here for years.

"We have the same people coming here for their medication and we know a lot of them by name. You get to know people over the years and it’s sad.

"It will also put pressure on all the other pharmacies in the area when there’s a lot of pressure on pharmacies at the moment anyway.

"It’s been fantastic working with our team over the years – I’ve made some of the best friends and worked with some of the nicest people."

Dispenser Angela Murray, aged 43, has worked at Sainsbury's since 2005 and moved over to the pharmacy when it was built 13 years ago. LloydsPharmacy took over the branch seven years ago.

The mum-of-three, from Northwich, said: "It’s been a bit of a shock. I don’t think it’s quite it hit me yet.

“I’ve enjoyed the job - you get to meet some lovely people and worked with some great colleagues.

"We’ve done quite a lot, like Macmillan cake mornings, 10k Race For Life, midnight walks, over the years trying to put things back into the community and try to support the people we help on a day to day basis.

“It’s really, really sad. We were one of the few pharmacies open late nights and at weekends.

"We were the only ones open on Bank Holiday Mondays – it’s a loss for the community. There’ll be hardly anyone to turn to after 6pm.

"I started in 2005 on the tills for Sainsbury’s and they put the pharmarcy in 13 years ago, so once they built it I moved over and have literally been in from the beginning and watched it grow, and now I’ve watched it fall.

"My favourite things has been the giggles. We called each other a ‘pharmily’ – I know that probably sounds really cheesy but we met some great people."

A LloydsPharmacy spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the LloydsPharmacy branch in Sainsbury's Northwich has closed as part of its withdrawal of services from Sainsbury’s stores during 2023.

"As plans for each branch are being determined on a branch-by-branch basis, closure dates are subject to change, sometimes at short notice. LloydsPharmacy apologises for any inconvenience this may cause.

"Throughout, LloydsPharmacy has remained committed to helping patients easily find a suitable alternative provision. For help and information they can visit the LloydsPharmacy website or the NHS website."