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A Liverpool-based independent pharmacy group is facing a clawback of over £120,000 for Covid-era medicines deliveries following a failed appeal. 

A decision published this week on the NHS Resolution website reveals that in early January the appeals body ruled in the NHS Business Services Authority’s favour, triggering a clawback of £106,554 across five branches of Davey’s Chemist. 

This is in addition to a ‘recovery’ of £18,384 for deliveries that were made to clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) patients after a cutoff date of March 30, 2021. The clawback for CEV deliveries was not contested by the company, which acknowledged it had claimed for these “in pure error”.

NHSR’s appeals committee found that between April 2021 and March 2022, 17,759 Medicines Delivery Service (MDS) claims submitted by Davey’s Chemist branches for £6 payments were made without evidence being provided that the recipients had been contacted by the Government’s Test and Trace service and told to isolate for 10 days. 

The highest number of ineligible claims from one branch was 5,880, amounting to £35,280 in £6 payments. 

One branch had made the fourth-highest number of claims in England for delivering to self-isolating patients, the NHS post-payment verification exercise (PPV) found. 

Company owner John Davey, who has fought to overturn the MDS clawbacks since they were confirmed in February 2025, told the pharmacy appeals committee in November last year that he believed he had “done the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons,” according to NHSR’s account. 

Mr Davey told the committee his company’s efforts reduced hospitalisations and saved patients, adding that there were more deliveries carried out than he had claimed for.  

He argued that there were significant issues with the Test and Trace initiative in Liverpool, describing the service as “overwhelmed,” and that many of his patients were elderly individuals who faced digital barriers and were unable to download their Test & Trace ID number.

He also claimed that the Government’s communications around the service requirements were unclear, and that he had used his clinical judgement based on patient need. 

His claims were supported by numerous testimonials, including several from local medical practices who said the service provided by Davey’s Chemist during the pandemic had been invaluable.

The appeals committee said it recognised that pharmacies were “under considerable pressure” during the pandemic and that there were challenges around digital literacy but “did not accept that this would have been the case with every patient”. 

The committee also insisted that patients were explicitly told they had to provide pharmacies with a Test and Trace ID number in order to qualify for the MDS. 

It upheld the NHSBSA’s decision to impose the clawback and advised NHS England to negotiate “a reasonable repayment schedule” with the business. 

Davey’s Chemist has been approached for comment. 

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