Health Editor Barry Nelson talks to Shaun Hockey, who spotted a gap in the pharmacy market and decided to fill it.

THOUSANDS of people visit a pharmacy in the North-East every day. We all take it for granted that we can nip down to Boots, Superdrug or Lloyds, Moss, Rowlands or an independent chemist and buy a range of products, not just medication.

But how many consumers realise that without a fully-qualified pharmacist on the premises, the doors of the pharmacy could not open in the morning.

The necessity by law to have a pharmacist in place at the beginning of each normal working day can be a nightmare for the large chains or the smaller independent, even if much of the merchandise sold has nothing to do with drugs or medicines.

Finding a qualified pharmacist who can step in at short notice if someone is ill or absent is not always easy - a fact that became apparent to North Yorkshire pharmacist Shaun Hockey during his days as a locum, pharmacy manager and then store manager across the region.

"It's simple, if the pharmacist doesn't turn up for any reason you can't open the doors to the public. It's not just pharmaceuticals, you can't sell cosmetics or anything," says Shaun, who is based in Bedale.

This need to guarantee the presence of a pharmacist at every chemist shop in the region - together with a shortage of qualified pharmacists - set Shaun thinking about a potential business opportunity. "There were locum agencies around but I just thought I could do it better than they could," he says.

In January 2004 he took the plunge and set up Pharmacy Locums UK with an advert in the trade press backed up by a specially designed website. Quitting his job as a manager with Boots, which included spells running branches in Darlington, Richmond and Harrogate, he plunged himself into the new venture.

There was an immediate response and it didn't take long before business was booming and Shaun now has about 500 locum pharmacists on his books, a total which is increasing all the time.

Shaun, who still works as a locum now and again "to keep my hand in", says the national shortage of pharmacists poses a potential problem for a government which is trying to re-position pharmacists, giving them a new, more prominent role in meeting the needs of patients.

"We have always advised patients on how to use medicines but the Government wants us to provide information to patients in a more formal way. It should mean that qualified pharmacists will be able to do what they were trained to do and share their expertise with patients."

With more and more prescription drugs becoming available over the counter, pharmacists are increasingly expected to make snap decisions on whether drugs can be sold to individuals.

"In some cases, for instance, with a cholesterol-lowering drug, we now have to ask a number of questions before dispensing medication. There are lots of occasions when we don't sell," he adds.

From running his business from a spare bedroom Shaun now has an office in Bedale. His next step is to launch a one-stop shop for pharmacies, providing pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other pharmacy support staff.