From dispensary to neighbourhood health hub

Devshi Kerai, pharmacist and owner of Nimo Pharmacy, shares how having Cegedim Rx at the heart of his business for more than 22-years has helped guide him through the evolution of community pharmacy.

Run by husband-and-wife team Devshi and Prem Kerai, Nimo Pharmacy in Poole, Dorset has built its reputation on long-standing patient relationships and trusted care.

But over those two decades there’s been plenty of change that Devshi and Prem have had to keep up with. Not only have the needs of their patients and dispensing pressures grown, so too has the role of community pharmacy.

“Community pharmacy has always been able to deliver much more than dispensing,” says Devshi. “Our skills and the trusted relationships we have with patients means we’re perfectly placed to offer much more clinical care and services.

“Community pharmacy is evolving - supporting GPs, helping patients earlier, and doing more within the community.”

The technology helping support that evolution for Nimo Pharmacy – since the very day Devshi and Prem opened their doors in 2004 – is Cegedim Rx.

A partnership powering change

“I’ve been with Cegedim since day one. For 22 years, their PMR system has made life easier – 100%! That’s why we’ve never been tempted to move to another system. The technology and support delivered by them reduces my stress levels and the pressure on the team.”

As the NHS rolled out Pharmacy First and set out its ambition for community pharmacies to become neighbourhood health hubs, Devshi knew it was time to add to his technology armoury.

“We were feeling the squeeze of funding decreases. But when the focus shifted towards pharmacy delivering care we knew we had an opportunity to grow by increasing our clinical services. We just needed some support to make the leap.”

So last year, Nimo Pharmacy went live with Cegedim Rx’s clinical services platform – Pharmacy Services – to help them level up how they deliver NHS care.

Creating capacity to grow clinical services

With ten staff and four consultation rooms, Nimo Pharmacy is now capable of delivering a wide range of services, including Pharmacy First, NHS contraception and vaccinations.

“All our NHS clinical services now run through Pharmacy Services,” Devshi explains. “It’s made a huge difference.

“What really sold me on Pharmacy Services was road testing the system for COVID and flu vaccinations. Vaccinations used to be a headache, but now it’s a breeze. Knowing it can deliver during peak times means we’re set up for success all year round too.”

The ability to relieve pharmacy pressure points all year round is crucial, with Devshi adding that the platform’s ability to streamline workflows has significantly reduced the admin burden on the team.

Scrapping paper and boosting NMS delivery

Another big area of improvement for Nimo Pharmacy has been in delivering the New Medicine Service (NMS).

Until October 2025, Devshi and his team were reliant on paper for NMS. “In the past we’d lose hours poring over the NMS paperwork. Now it’s all digital.

“I can now dedicate a day to focus on NMS when the locum is covering dispensing. I’m saving at least six hours a month delivering NMS using Pharmacy Services. A complete turnaround.”

Less hassle, more profit

By leveraging the time savings and reduced cognitive load gained from Pharmacy Manager and Pharmacy Services, Devshi had the headspace to expand his private clinical services too.

“Travel health and weight management are our most popular private clinical services,” says Devshi.

Devshi personally delivers many of the private consultations, supported by locum cover and a second pharmacist focusing on NHS services.

“The biggest win is freeing up time. And when the systems are so easy, I can focus on patients rather than paperwork. That balance allows us to meet patient demand while running the pharmacy smoothly.”

It’s also helped the pharmacy grow profits by six-fold.

Future-proofing a family business

Soon the husband-and-wife team will expand, not only to bring into the business the next generation of technology, but also their family.

“My son, Niral is training to become a pharmacy technician. Once he’s qualified, we’re keen for him to lead dispensing operations. This will further free up myself and Prem to double down on clinical services.

“We’re already in talks with Cegedim Rx about how we can automate more of the dispensing process, and we’re excited by how they can help us.”

Devshi attributes his success to three things. “Hard work, hard work and more hard work,” he explains. “There’s nothing else to it.”

And after more than two decades in business and the next generation of their family joining very soon, it’s clear to see that the Nimo Pharmacy team’s hard work is paying off.

Find out how Cegedim Rx is helping more pharmacies like Nimo Pharmacy in Poole transform from dispensary to neighbourhood health hub with our Pharmacy Services platform by booking a demo – just click here.