Pharmacy Show hears our ambitions for future of community pharmacy

Community Pharmacy England CEO Janet Morrison gave an important sector update at this week’s Pharmacy Show, while other members of the team joined other key sessions and engaged with visitors to our exhibition stand. Thank you to all community pharmacy owners and others who took this opportunity to engage with us, sharing views and asking questions.

Janet delivers her keynote speech on ‘Where next for the CPCF?’ | Credit: The Pharmacy Show 2024

Janet discusses influencing strategy in a panel session. | Credit: The Pharmacy Show 2024

In a keynote speech on the Monday morning, Janet outlined the huge amount of work that Community Pharmacy England did in the first 100 days of the Labour Government. This has helped both to build constructive relationships with new Ministers and to get across the critical situation that community pharmacies are in and the urgency with which the sector needs answers.

Recent work has included making submissions to the Darzi Review and the Government Spending Review, working with national media to get coverage of the pressures that pharmacies are under and their impact on patients, conducting economic projects and public polling to reinforce our arguments and case, and re-building a network of advocates across Parliament.

Janet warned that community pharmacy is on the brink of a ‘hours of cards’ collapse, and 2024/25 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) negotiations needed to re-commence urgently. She does not yet know precisely when that will happen, nor how quickly they will reach conclusion, but is acutely aware that it is linked with the Spending Review and the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) discussions with the Treasury.

The Negotiating Team, which includes pharmacy owners and representatives from all sizes of business, is clear that the top priority in negotiations is to secure a significant uplift. However, there will also be more detailed issues to determine in terms of how any additional funding is allocated, how it is distributed to address cashflow issues, and maximising the amount of the Primary Care Recovery Plan budget that is paid to community pharmacies.

Looking further ahead, Janet also described how her team has been working to present community pharmacy as the bringer of potential solutions to the challenges facing the NHS. The Vision for Community Pharmacy – now a year old – has been invaluable in doing this, with the Committee recently further shaping these ideas into a grid of service development priorities that link directly into the new Government’s health ambitions. These are being actively used in our influencing and public affairs work, including through inputting into Government Spending Review processes and DHSC’s work on the new NHS 10 Year Plan.

From championing the sector’s economic and social value to laying the foundations for the next CPCF, there’s a whole range of crucial activities feeding into our wider strategic influencing programme. But at the very heart of this is the mantra “no expansion without stabilisation”.

As Community Pharmacy England is a Committee of pharmacy owners, they are feeling the weight of the immense financial and operational pressures and are absolutely clear on the crisis facing the sector. The Pharmacy Show provided another opportunity to share more about our work to tackle key issues and our strategy for the future, as well as the chance to answer questions and discuss further issues one-on-one.

Commenting on her Pharmacy Show experience, Janet Morrison said:

“I was delighted to attend the 2024 Pharmacy Show and have the chance to speak directly to pharmacy owners and others doing fantastic work in and with the sector. I am always impressed by the commitment of pharmacy owners and their teams to their patients and communities even in these challenging times.

This past year has seen significant recognition for community pharmacy, with the launch of Pharmacy First and the inclusion of pharmacy in all major political party manifestos. We have a new Government with Ministers who seem to be listening, and Community Pharmacy England is determined to keep influencing policymakers to drive bigger, more meaningful change for the sector. First and foremost this means stabilising the foundations of the sector before we can think about ambitions for a greater role in clinical services.

Sadly, pharmacy owners visiting our stand – who put their hearts and souls into their businesses – described their continuing daily struggles and the need for financial security. This is precisely why we have been gathering stacks of data and analysis to prepare for the re-commencement of the 2024/25 negotiations and beyond.

We are keen to get back to the negotiating table and are ready to take forward discussions on the future: pharmacy needs answers on the contractual framework for this year, and to have viable plans for the future.”

Elsewhere at the Pharmacy Show

Community Pharmacy England had its biggest ever presence at the Pharmacy Show this year. The Executive Team took part in key panels on influencing Government, Pharmacy First learnings and what next for the sector, as well as running educational sessions on funding, regulations and services. We also attended presentations from others, cautiously welcoming NHS England’s announcement that Ministers intend to amend the Pharmacy First monthly payment thresholds for the rest of the year.

The Community Pharmacy England team talking to just some of the visitors to our stand. 

Thank you to everyone who visited our exhibition stand during the Show. This helped us to connect with hundreds of people, including pharmacy owners, team members, and other professionals working in pharmacy or other parts of the healthcare landscape. All of these conversations help us in our mission to champion community pharmacy and build a better future for the sector.

How concerned are you about your pharmacy business going into this winter, and what impact might there be on your patients?

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