Pharmacy’s role backed at Conservative Conference event

Community Pharmacy England partnered with think tank Re:State to host a roundtable discussion at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester this week, at which community pharmacy’s role in the future health service was once again backed.

The roundtable asked: ‘The NHS in transition: Can community and primary care lead the shift?’ and we were delighted that Dr Luke Evans MP, Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary for Health and Social Care, joined us to help lead the discussion.

Other groups represented included:

• Primary care colleagues from dentistry and optometry;
• Patient representatives including from the British Heart Foundation, Mind, National Voices and Cancer Research UK;
• Think tanks including The King’s Fund and Onward; and
• The other national pharmacy organisations: the Company Chemists’ Association, Independent Pharmacies Association and National Pharmacy Association.

Attendees considered the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, thinking about how best to ensure that all of the ambitions set out in the plan can be met, so that patients of the future get what they need from the healthcare system, when they need it. The discussion covered the impact of funding challenges across community pharmacy and primary care, including how pharmacy closures affect local communities. There was also consideration of how the NHS could best raise awareness of Pharmacy First and other new services or care pathways, and of the potential for future community pharmacy services which would make best use of Independent Prescribers. The Neighbourhood Health System, and how this will work in practice for patients, the public and existing service providers was also considered. Attendees also agreed that a culture shift away from relying on acute services for minor ailments is still needed to fully deliver on the ambitions for community healthcare set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan.

The event continued our programme of influencing work, building relationships with politicians and others in order to influence health policy in community pharmacy’s favour.

Outside of the roundtable event, the team attended fringe events and met with other key stakeholders. Our primary focus has been to ensure that as many influential people as possible fully understand both the potential of the community pharmacy sector and the significant strain that it is still under.

As the party conference season comes to an end, our event partners Re:State will be producing a summary report of our event series to reflect on shared themes and policy challenges that primary care and patient groups are facing. This will form part of our invaluable toolkit for continuing political work in Westminster and beyond.

Zoe Long, Director of Communications, Corporate and Public Affairs at Community Pharmacy England, said: 

“It was great to connect with the Shadow Health Team and with so many advocates for community pharmacy in Manchester this week. We considered how we can build on the success of Pharmacy First, which was introduced by the last Government, and what else the future holds for primary care. Support for community pharmacy remains high.

And the message from the sector was clear: community pharmacy has much to offer as the NHS transitions and in support of the Ten-Year Health Plan, but only if pharmacies have the support they need.”