LONDON (Mar. 4) J Sainsbury has become the first supermarket in the country to offer an in-store physician-staffed clinic.

According to published reports, the initiative, dubbed Doctors in Store, is the idea of Manchester-area family physician Mohammed Jiva.

The clinic, located inside the pharmacy area of Sainbury’s store in Heaton Park, is the first phase of a six-month pilot by Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust. Two more clinics are likely to open later this year, possibly in Rochdale town centre, according to reports.

The in-store clinic is not meant to replace a patient’s traditional doctor but to provide extended hours medical care. The Doctors in Store physicians will be able to access patients’ medical records online and refer patients on for more treatment, as well as prescribe medication and update their notes, reports stated.