MPs back PSNC vision for community pharmacy services

16 September 2013

Senior politicians including the pharmacy minister have backed an expanded service role for community pharmacies in the NHS as set out in PSNC’s vision for the sector.

Over the summer, PSNC published a vision narrative over the summer outlining how community pharmacy services could be developed across four key domains: medicines optimisation; supporting people to self-care; helping people to lead healthier lives/public health; and supporting people to live independently.

Pharmacy minister Earl Howe told last week's Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Annual Conference that he believed that as well as the challenges, the new health and care sector did provide new opportunities for community pharmacy.

'The Vision for NHS Community Pharmacies published recently by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee is a good example of community pharmacy taking control of its own destiny,' Earl Howe said.
'Now, more than ever, commissioners, patients and the public must be encouraged to view pharmacy as a natural partner in integrated care provision working with, not for, other healthcare professionals for the benefit of patients and the public.'

The All Party Pharmacy Group also heard from politicians across all three parties this week as they discussed the future of the sector.

Lord Clement-Jones, a former Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, referenced PSNC’s vision for the NHS in which an expanded community pharmacy service would form the foundation of a third pillar of NHS care to support the two existing pillars of secondary and GP-based primary care.
He highlighted getting buy in from other healthcare professionals as a key challenge to be overcome in achieving this vision.

Andy Burnham MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health, said he believed social care and health needed to be fully integrated in the future to provide whole person care, and that community pharmacy could have a very different role within a system like that.

And Stephen Dorrell MP, Chairman of the Health Select Committee, also told the APPG he believed care needed to be joined up for patients and that people must be supported to lead healthy lives for as long as possible.
'It’s great to see that politicians across all three parties seem to agree that community pharmacy has an important part to play in the future of the health service as we have set out in our vision narrative,' said Alastair Buxton, PSNC Head of NHS Services.

'Our messages are clearly being heard, but the work doesn’t stop here. At PSNC will be continuing to make the case for an expanded community pharmacy service in a number of ways, including using the vision narrative in our discussions with commissioners and lobbying politicians at all three political party conferences over the next few weeks.

'We are also producing communications resources for LPCs to use to promote community pharmacies and the role we believe they can play at a local level.'