Our response to Labour Party Manifesto

Community Pharmacy England has issued the following statement in response to the Labour Party Manifesto.

Our CEO Janet Morrison said:

“We have been urging all political parties to commit to working with us to make better use of the skills of community pharmacists for the benefit of patients, pharmacies and the wider NHS. Pharmacies have so much potential to improve healthcare access, but they need the security of a sustainable funding model to continue to deliver high quality primary health services.

We were pleased to see a commitment to create a Community Pharmacist Prescribing Service from the Labour Party which would see more pharmacists gain and be able to make use of independent prescribing rights. Expanding independent prescribing recognises the clinical skills of community pharmacists and the potential of the sector to alleviate pressures elsewhere in primary care.

It has been very encouraging to see the major political parties in England all referencing community pharmacy in their manifestos. With party pledges ranging from expanding Pharmacy First, as pledged by the Conservative Party, or extending prescribing rights and public health services, as pledged by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, this shows the strength of the support for the sector.”