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| At first, they tried to deny it and then the letters from staff began to pour in | |
| (3 days later) | |
| You’ve probably never heard of Simon Roberts but you’ve almost certainly given him your business. He is the soon-to-be-departed boss of Britain’s biggest chain of pharmacies, the head of one of our oldest and best-known high-street chain of shops. | You’ve probably never heard of Simon Roberts but you’ve almost certainly given him your business. He is the soon-to-be-departed boss of Britain’s biggest chain of pharmacies, the head of one of our oldest and best-known high-street chain of shops. |
| As president of Boots, he is one of the most important retailers in the country and his departure comes just weeks after the Guardian published an investigation into Boots – Britain’s biggest pharmacy chain. | As president of Boots, he is one of the most important retailers in the country and his departure comes just weeks after the Guardian published an investigation into Boots – Britain’s biggest pharmacy chain. |
| An in-depth piece of work months in the making, it reported allegations from staff that the business forces chemists to milk the NHS for cash, pressures them to sacrifice professional ethics in order to meet demanding business targets and to work in conditions that pose a direct threat to the safety of patients. Within two days of the piece’s publication, the pharmacy regulator began calling in evidence, taking the first steps towards a full investigation of the group. The story was brought up at prime minister’s questions. The company tried to deny everything. | An in-depth piece of work months in the making, it reported allegations from staff that the business forces chemists to milk the NHS for cash, pressures them to sacrifice professional ethics in order to meet demanding business targets and to work in conditions that pose a direct threat to the safety of patients. Within two days of the piece’s publication, the pharmacy regulator began calling in evidence, taking the first steps towards a full investigation of the group. The story was brought up at prime minister’s questions. The company tried to deny everything. |
| Within hours of the story’s publication, Boots sent not one but two letters to its staff, attacking the Guardian for “a very specific and strong negative agenda”. | Within hours of the story’s publication, Boots sent not one but two letters to its staff, attacking the Guardian for “a very specific and strong negative agenda”. |
| That accusation was soon dropped as the chain’s own staff wrote in unprecedented numbers to the newspaper confirming the allegations – and adding to them. The investigation – a Guardian long read – had focused on a Boots chemist called “Tony”, who had been nearly broken by his employer and now has depression and anxiety attacks. Many of the letters we received from Boots pharmacists began “I am Tony”. Some described how conditions were so hard to bear they had been driven to contemplate suicide. | That accusation was soon dropped as the chain’s own staff wrote in unprecedented numbers to the newspaper confirming the allegations – and adding to them. The investigation – a Guardian long read – had focused on a Boots chemist called “Tony”, who had been nearly broken by his employer and now has depression and anxiety attacks. Many of the letters we received from Boots pharmacists began “I am Tony”. Some described how conditions were so hard to bear they had been driven to contemplate suicide. |
| This is a situation for which Roberts bears responsibility. As boss of Boots UK since 2014 and a senior executive for many years before that, he was in charge of extracting as much cash as possible from the business. That money was siphoned offshore to Stefano Pessina and a small group of multinational investors, who had borrowed billions to buy the group in 2007. Whilst there is nothing illegal about these arrangements, they had winners and losers. The losers of that regime were patients now put at risk, “Tony” and his colleagues, and the taxpayer. The winners included Roberts himself, who was rewarded with an executive position at Walgreen Boots Alliance – the multinational that now owns Boots. | This is a situation for which Roberts bears responsibility. As boss of Boots UK since 2014 and a senior executive for many years before that, he was in charge of extracting as much cash as possible from the business. That money was siphoned offshore to Stefano Pessina and a small group of multinational investors, who had borrowed billions to buy the group in 2007. Whilst there is nothing illegal about these arrangements, they had winners and losers. The losers of that regime were patients now put at risk, “Tony” and his colleagues, and the taxpayer. The winners included Roberts himself, who was rewarded with an executive position at Walgreen Boots Alliance – the multinational that now owns Boots. |
| The revelation of this predatory model of business has proved toxic for Roberts and Boots. The business trades off its reputation as a trusted friend to ordinary Britons – their partner in helping them “feel good”. It is also dependent on the taxpayer for revenue: a third of its annual income – £2bn – comes from NHS prescriptions. The Guardian’s stories place the company in an agonisingly difficult position. It cannot admit the allegations, for fear of losing even more public trust. But it cannot plausibly deny them either. | The revelation of this predatory model of business has proved toxic for Roberts and Boots. The business trades off its reputation as a trusted friend to ordinary Britons – their partner in helping them “feel good”. It is also dependent on the taxpayer for revenue: a third of its annual income – £2bn – comes from NHS prescriptions. The Guardian’s stories place the company in an agonisingly difficult position. It cannot admit the allegations, for fear of losing even more public trust. But it cannot plausibly deny them either. |
| And so Boots has adopted an oddly two-track approach. To the outside world, there is still the same old denialism – which can be spectacularly cack-handed. Senior executives at Walgreen Boots Alliance even got involved at the end of April in the extensive editing of a letter to this paper – from a supposedly independent chemist – criticising the Guardian for doing “damage ... to a profession I love”. The letter was submitted with the track changes left in, so that it was clear who had processed them. | And so Boots has adopted an oddly two-track approach. To the outside world, there is still the same old denialism – which can be spectacularly cack-handed. Senior executives at Walgreen Boots Alliance even got involved at the end of April in the extensive editing of a letter to this paper – from a supposedly independent chemist – criticising the Guardian for doing “damage ... to a profession I love”. The letter was submitted with the track changes left in, so that it was clear who had processed them. |
| The tactic might have worked had the fuss died down. But faced with a workforce that clearly agree with the allegations, senior management at Boots have taken an increasingly conciliatory tone. One recent memo from its chief pharmacist, Marc Donovan, admits that the Guardian’s coverage “may strike a chord with you”. Another supplies full details of a whistleblowing hotline. | The tactic might have worked had the fuss died down. But faced with a workforce that clearly agree with the allegations, senior management at Boots have taken an increasingly conciliatory tone. One recent memo from its chief pharmacist, Marc Donovan, admits that the Guardian’s coverage “may strike a chord with you”. Another supplies full details of a whistleblowing hotline. |
| Related: How Boots went rogue | Aditya Chakrabortty | Related: How Boots went rogue | Aditya Chakrabortty |
| None of this clears the company’s reputation – and a clear reputation is what Boots needs if it is to succeed in its stated goal of winning more NHS contracts: to provide blood-testing, for provision of hearing aids, to host GP surgeries. | None of this clears the company’s reputation – and a clear reputation is what Boots needs if it is to succeed in its stated goal of winning more NHS contracts: to provide blood-testing, for provision of hearing aids, to host GP surgeries. |
| Besides, much of the senior management will remain. A former senior manager of Boots, who worked in the company’s head office told me yesterday: “It will take a decade to get rid of all the rot and poison in that company.” | Besides, much of the senior management will remain. A former senior manager of Boots, who worked in the company’s head office told me yesterday: “It will take a decade to get rid of all the rot and poison in that company.” |
| And at the helm of the multinational remains Pessina, who was part of the original consortium of investors and who made an estimated £10bn from his investment in Boots UK. From being a continental drug wholesaler a decade ago, he is now the biggest pharmacist on either side of the Atlantic. As long as he is there and as long as the Boots business model remains what one expert dubs “stretch and extract” – stretching finances and staff as far as they can go, then extracting the profits – it’s hard to see how Boots will ever change its ways. Roberts and Pessina have both stated that his decision to go was personal and made months back. Roberts plans to spend more time with his family: “Now is the right time for me to step away and consider new opportunities.” Pessina, continues to be the company’s driving force as chief executive. “I would like to warmly thank Simon for his outstanding contribution and for the key role he played at Boots during the past 13 years of his career,” he said. | And at the helm of the multinational remains Pessina, who was part of the original consortium of investors and who made an estimated £10bn from his investment in Boots UK. From being a continental drug wholesaler a decade ago, he is now the biggest pharmacist on either side of the Atlantic. As long as he is there and as long as the Boots business model remains what one expert dubs “stretch and extract” – stretching finances and staff as far as they can go, then extracting the profits – it’s hard to see how Boots will ever change its ways. Roberts and Pessina have both stated that his decision to go was personal and made months back. Roberts plans to spend more time with his family: “Now is the right time for me to step away and consider new opportunities.” Pessina, continues to be the company’s driving force as chief executive. “I would like to warmly thank Simon for his outstanding contribution and for the key role he played at Boots during the past 13 years of his career,” he said. |
| Pharmacists who have contacted me in the past few weeks confirm that nothing has changed at the business: they are still being set targets for how much NHS revenue they can bring in, patients are still being served with too few resources and staff morale remains at rock bottom. | Pharmacists who have contacted me in the past few weeks confirm that nothing has changed at the business: they are still being set targets for how much NHS revenue they can bring in, patients are still being served with too few resources and staff morale remains at rock bottom. |
| On hearing the news of Roberts’ departure “Tony” sent me a text. It read: “So Simon is the sacrificial lamb that will cleanse Boots of its ‘sins’. Lol!” | On hearing the news of Roberts’ departure “Tony” sent me a text. It read: “So Simon is the sacrificial lamb that will cleanse Boots of its ‘sins’. Lol!” |