Call to expand pharmacy respiratory services to help tackle winter health pressures
Community Pharmacy England has joined forces with the Taskforce for Lung Health to call for pharmacies to be given a bigger role in supporting lung health to improve respiratory health outcomes, enhance access to care, and ease winter pressures on the NHS.
A new joint Action Plan to help prevent a future winter respiratory health crisis recommends investing in and expanding community pharmacy services to include the provision of further respiratory care such as annual asthma reviews and pneumococcal vaccinations. These measures are in line with the Vision for Community Pharmacy and are being proposed as the Government develops its 10-year health plan for the NHS.
YouGov polling also released today found that four out of five people across England would support these policy proposals. This includes backing pharmacies to offer more help with assessments and support for people with asthma (85%), a wider range of vaccinations (85%), and stop smoking services without needing a referral (84%).
Lung diseases are the leading driver of emergency admissions, and last winter saw many parts of the NHS once again overwhelmed as the rise in flu admissions led to exceptionally high demands for emergency hospital services. Now the new polling has confirmed that, last winter, community pharmacies were the most accessible healthcare location for members of the public, when they were asked how easy or difficult it was to access various NHS services.
Community pharmacies also had wide support from the public with two-thirds (65%) saying they were important to them, and over three-quarters (77%) saying they would be concerned if their local community pharmacy were to close.
It is therefore vital that the sector’s role is embedded into the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, and accompanied by a sustainable funding and operational model to protect the network of community pharmacies.
This evening, MPs and patient groups will attend a Parliamentary reception to learn more about the significant contributions community pharmacies make to respiratory care and discuss the Lung Health and Community Pharmacy Action Plan. Attendees will also hear from Healthwatch England, and be invited to sign a joint letter calling on the Pharmacy Minister to make better use of community pharmacies in the provision of respiratory services, to improve care outcomes and help prevent future winter health crises.
Read the joint Action Plan: Lung Health and Community Pharmacy
Alastair Buxton, Director of NHS Services at Community Pharmacy England, said:
“Community pharmacies have long been the front door to the NHS, and today’s YouGov polling has confirmed just how much the nation relies on them, as well as the strong public support for pharmacies to provide even more health services. We should be protecting this valuable healthcare asset and making much better use of their clinical skills.
“Despite being under huge pressures themselves, community pharmacies provide critical services and they remain our most accessible healthcare assets. Millions of people are continuing turn to pharmacies for healthcare advice, particularly as they struggle to access other parts of the NHS.
“Community pharmacy is a dynamic, innovative, patient-focused sector: by protecting pharmacies and empowering them to offer a fuller range of healthcare services, including to do more to support lung health, they could provide the lifeline that our creaking health system needs. The Government must make the most of this valuable, accessible network and put community pharmacies at the heart of their upcoming NHS 10-Year Health Plan.”
Henry Gregg, Chair of the Taskforce for Lung Health, said:
“Community pharmacies are at the heart of NHS primary care services, providing essential services. This new polling shows the strength of public support for community pharmacies to provide more annual reviews and vaccinations for people living with lung conditions.
“Last winter was the busiest year on record for emergency services, with more than 15 hospitals across England declaring critical incidents. Lung disease is the leading driver of emergency admissions and winter pressures within the NHS. By expanding the use of community pharmacies, the government can reduce the number of respiratory emergency admissions and prevent another winter NHS crisis, but they must act now.”
Will Pett, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Research and Insight, Healthwatch England:
“Community pharmacies are widely used, with people valuing how easy pharmacies are to access and how quickly they can be seen by teams.
“We know that people support the expansion of services in pharmacies, which could benefit people with long term health conditions and those living in deprived areas. But we also know that issues facing the pharmacy sector, including closures, workforce shortages, and medicine shortages can affect the delivery of services which can damage people’s confidence in pharmacies.
“To maintain and expand vital community pharmacy services, we’re calling for the government to focus on staff recruitment and raising awareness among the public of available support that teams can deliver. We also look forward to working with government partners to address the issue of medication shortages.”
The public polling and parliamentary event have been organised as part of Community Pharmacy England’s ongoing influencing campaign to gain wide and vocal support from both politicians and key political influencers, and to ask for their help in pressing Government to act to protect our community pharmacies for the long-term.
APPG Event: Future of pharmacy
Last week, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Pharmacy held a roundtable on the Future of Pharmacy. This followed on from an earlier session, held in December, where parliamentarians heard from NHS England, the British Medical Association and Healthwatch England.
Zoe Long, Director of Communications, Corporate and Public Affairs at Community Pharmacy England, gave evidence to MPs which focussed on the scale of the funding gap, and the need for sustainable investment in community pharmacy for the benefit of pharmacies, patients, and the wider NHS. The APPG will shortly publish a report summarising the key findings of the sessions.
The APPG is an independent cross-party parliamentary group, currently chaired by Labour MP Steve Race. Community Pharmacy England co-funds the Secretariat of the group along with the CCA, NPA, IPA and RPS.
Resources for external stakeholders
Pharmacy owners and LPCs can help to support this work by writing to your MP or hosting a pharmacy visit for them. Our updated guidance documents provide useful advice on how to approach this:
For all of our recent MP briefings, please visit our Information for politicians webpage.
