UK Meds is one of the largest privately regulated online pharmacies in the country, putting patient safety and convenience at the heart of everything we do. The company is family run and we have an expert team that is passionate about health and wellbeing.
We aim to make our customers’ lives easier by helping them avoid waiting for GP appointments and trips to the pharmacy by having their prescribed medicines delivered to their door in a quick and professional manner. Customers complete an online consultation with a short questionnaire, which is then reviewed by an independent prescriber registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
Once the correct treatment has been determined, you can then proceed with your order and it is prepared in a GPhC-registered pharmacy. We offer a range of delivery options through Royal Mail, so customers can complete the whole process from their home.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
I’m a long-term asthma sufferer and inhalers have been an important part of my life for a long time. I’ve always needed a GP to renew my prescription, but it’s not always easy to book an appointment.
Back in 2015, my inhaler ran out and I became frustrated by how long it was taking to secure an appointment to get a new one. I thought there must be an easier way than this. That’s where the idea of UK Meds came from, I knew there would be lots of other people in the UK who weren’t able to access healthcare simply because of red tape and busy GP schedules.
People don’t want to spend ages on the phone trying to get an appointment, and it’s not always convenient to visit the pharmacy either. Along with my son Mason, we quickly began to grow the business, investing heavily in technology to maximise patient safety and convenience.
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What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
Often, the best businesses are ones that have a clear mission. At UK Meds, ours is to be pioneers in our industry and to work tirelessly to give our customers the safest and easiest ways to access healthcare. I’m passionate about this because of my own personal experience with asthma, so I’m able to see things from different perspectives.
It’s important to stay true to your mission and believe in it. If your idea is strong enough, you will be in a good position to overcome the various challenges that come with building a business from scratch.
What can we hope to see from UK Meds in the future?
It’s an exciting time for UK Meds as we launch two new face masks that we believe can be a major weapon in the fight against Covid-19. Our FFP2 and FFP3 Grade Medical Respirators have passed rigorous testing by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and are certified to offer 99 percent filtration against Covid-19. This is higher than other standard FFP2 masks on the market, which only offer 94 percent. As a company, we are concerned that some of the face masks on the market simply are not fit for purpose and we want to make truly effective face masks as accessible as possible.
Like many businesses, Covid-19 gave us both challenges and opportunities, but we have invested heavily in making our processes as safe as possible to allow our customers to access much-needed healthcare from the comfort and security of their own home.
