By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Dischem pharmacies unveiled the Melrose Arch Health Hub, marking a significant step forward in its ambition to reduce the cost of healthcare, to increase access and improve health outcomes for South Africans.
The company says the hub represents a fundamental shift in how healthcare is delivered through retail.
The format is anchored in a clinic, pharmacy and cover services trifecta, marking a significant step in Dis-Chem’s evolution from a pharmacy-led retailer to an integrated health partner and retailer.
At the centre of the Hub, is a full-service gateway positioned as the primary entry point into Dis-Chem’s healthcare ecosystem. Staffed by trained Health Hub Advisors, it provides a single point of entry where customers are guided across both healthcare and retail journeys.
“This is very much not a concept store,” Dis-Chem CEO Rui Morais told journalists on Wednesday evening in Melrose Arch on 6 May. “We are specifically talking about the principle of one model, flexible execution.”
The genesis of this store layout came from a simple but hugely important question: if we could reimagine the future of health retail without any constraints, what would that look like? We did not start with the floor plan of an existing store. We started from scratch, imagining the art of the possible. From there, we worked to bring that vision back to the reality of our customers, our staff and our brand. With this format, we are bringing together elements that have long been fragmented into one coherent system, making healthcare more accessible, more connected and easier to navigate. That is what Better Health Starts Here truly means in practice,” he said.
The store will open to the public at 08:30 on Thursday, 7 May 2026 and is Dis-Chem’s 323rd retail outlet in South Africa.
Alongside the new store format, Dis-Chem has also launched its revamped app on 7 May, which will allow customers to book a clinic appointment in a half-hour slot.
This, Morais believes, will reduce waiting times at Dis-Chem clients and give clients certainty that they will be seen when they come in to use the clinic.
It should be noted that walk-ins can still come in, and when they do, they will now also know whether they will be seen that day or whether all slots are already filled.
Dis-Chem also plans to include a waiting room in its clinics, with clients no longer required to wait around in the retail segment of the store or at the pharmacy waiting area.
From the waiting room, clients will go to a clinic consultation room, where a phlebotomist (one will be hired for each new store going forward) will handle the administrative healthcare duties previously handled by a nurse.
This includes duties such as taking vital signs, collecting urine samples, drawing blood, and completing patient forms.
Morais said this will free up the nurses’ time to serve more people in a day, as they can focus on client consultations rather than these more administrative-like duties.
Dis-Chem plans to open a new store, with this new format, at Irene Village Mall on 30 July, and another in the Eastern Cape on 27 August.