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The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) will launch a new influencing campaign to build wider political support for community pharmacies this week. The campaign aims to ensure that MPs and Peers across Parliament understand the risks to pharmacy services that the current pressures on the sector are causing. In a Parliamentary event held today (Tuesday 15 November) MPs and Peers heard from PSNC, LPC and other pharmacy bodies about the current situation. PSNC briefed them on the urgent need for action to address the pressures on the sector. The committee will be working with LPCs and contractors to organise a series of pharmacy visits for key Parliamentarians including Minsters, Committee and APPG Members. This is happening alongside work to develop a new vision and strategy for the community pharmacy sector, all of which is part of PSNC's strategy to lay the ground for future CPCF negotiations.

As Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces the forthcoming UK general election, pharmacy bodies are calling on all political parties to commit to solving the issues facing the sector. The next UK general election will be held on 4 July, Sunak announced it on Wednesday afternoon during a press conference outside 10 Downing Street. "As the election is called it's imperative that any incoming government addresses the crisis in primary care and the looming cliff edge facing pharmacies, which for millions of people are the front door to the NHS and a crucial source of frontline health care," said Paul Rees, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Noting that the first responsibility of the government is to keep its people safe and healthy, he emphasised the importance of addressing the "deep funding gap that is pushing record numbers of pharmacies to the edge of closure and beyond, exacerbating the issues of waiting lists for GPs and hospital care."

With the UK General Election set for 4 July, pharmacy bodies are actively engaging with all political parties to secure support for the community pharmacy sector. They are pressing parties to address urgent issues such as pharmacy closures and medicine shortages. "The upcoming general election is a critical opportunity for us to strengthen supporters of community pharmacy in readiness for the new Parliament," said Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England (CPE). She stressed the need for unity within the sector in advocating for community pharmacy and raising awareness of the issues with election candidates from all parties. As the general election approaches, CPE has called upon all political parties to support pharmacies by "introducing a long-term sustainable funding model and reviewing the medicines supply chain, including much-needed short-term relief measures."

As the general election campaign heats up, major political parties - including Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats - have released their manifestos, detailing their plans and visions for the future of community pharmacy. While the Conservative Party promises to expand Pharmacy First initiative, Labour pledges support for small businesses, with plans to overhaul the business rates system. The Liberal Democrats' election manifesto commits to developing a fairer and more sustainable long-term funding model for pharmacies. Announcing their plans recently, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that they are investing in community care services to secure the future of the NHS and make healthcare more accessible. The Conservatives plan to fund these initiatives by cutting NHS managerial positions back to pre-pandemic levels and halving the government's management consultancy expenditure.

In partnership with the Prescription Charges Coalition (PCC), the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has taken a significant step by urging political leaders to abolish prescription charges for individuals with long-term conditions. Tase Oputu, Chair of the RPS England Pharmacy Board, signed an open letter on Thursday, calling on party leaders to address this pressing issue. The letter emphasises the outdated nature of the current exemption list, which forces individuals with chronic conditions like Parkinson's, cystic fibrosis, and HIV to bear the cost of their essential medications. It urges party leaders to urgently review and update the exemption list to ensure equitable access to necessary medicines. "Nobody should face a financial barrier to accessing the medicines they need," Oputu stated.

With the upcoming general election on the horizon, Proprietary Association of Greater Britain (PAGB) is leading the charge to integrate self-care into the core of all political party manifestos. The aim is to ease strains on the NHS and forge a sustainable healthcare system for the future. In a significant move, PAGB unveiled a comprehensive general election toolkit on Wednesday, laying out a compelling argument for the prioritisation of self-care among stakeholders. The toolkit underscores the importance of public interest, potential NHS cost savings, and the economic advantages of the over-the-counter (OTC) sector. Aimed at unlocking the full potential of self-care and nurturing an enabling environment for its implementation, PAGB's toolkit advocates for greater integration of pharmacy services into primary care.

The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp) has called upon all pharmacy organisations to unite and collectively represent the sector. While underlining the need for the sector to adopt a straightforward manifesto that can be presented to the public, politicians, and decision-makers, the association also advocated for a revitalisation of the 'Save Our Pharmacies' campaign, injecting it with renewed energy and a stronger sense of purpose. AIMp pointed out that a lack of cohesion is one of the factors contributing to the sector's struggle in gaining attention. "The current trajectory of community pharmacy is unsustainable," said Dr. Leyla Hannbeck, Chief Executive of AIMp. "To tackle the significant challenges ahead, we must work together cohesively. The most effective approach is to actively engage with Parliament, leveraging politicians from across the political spectrum to advocate for our cause." Meanwhile, the association urged various pharmacy bodies to unite in support of the Pharmacy All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to enhance its effectiveness and broaden its influence, rather than working independently.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) will be hosting a Parliamentary drop-in event for MPs on Monday (14 November). "The event will last for roughly two hours, during which MPs will have the opportunity to drop-in and have their blood pressure measured by a fully qualified pharmacist," said the committee. It added: "This event will be a great opportunity to talk to MPs from across the political spectrum about the incredible work pharmacies are doing up and down the country, to demonstrate the Hypertension Case-Finding Service and to discuss the frontline role pharmacists play in delivering vital services and free, expert advice." The other community pharmacy bodies, including the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) will also be present on the day, providing the sector with a valuable chance to present a united front on the big issues facing contractors throughout the country.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Wales and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) co-hosted a drop-in session to inform members of the Senedd (MSs) about the action taken by pharmacists to make medicines use more sustainable. At a 'drop-in' session the ABPI, RPS members and staff had the opportunity to speak to a number of MSs from all political parties. "With medicines accounting for around 25 per cent of the NHS carbon emissions, conversations were based around the key recommendations to reverse this from the RPS' policies on sustainability," said RPS. The three key themes emphasised in all discussions were- the need to educate the public and change behaviours to avoid stockpiling medicines; How the clinical skills of prescribing pharmacists can be used for appropriate de-prescribing and switching patients to low carbon options; and importance of tackling waste. RPS Wales Director Elen Jones said: "It was fantastic to see how interested and engaged the politicians were around these important issues. By the end of our conversations, they all clearly understood and supported the importance of pharmacy leadership in this area, as well as the need for the link between climate change and medicines to be better understood by patients.

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak on Monday (October 24) won the battle for leader of Britain's Conservative party and will become the country's first prime minister of colour. Penny Mordaunt, the last rival left after Boris Johnson dramatically pulled out, failed to secure the necessary 100 nominations from her fellow MPs. "Rishi Sunak is therefore elected as leader of the Conservative party," senior backbencher Graham Brady said, as Mordaunt pledged her "full support" for Sunak. Sunak's triumph came after Johnson's decision late Sunday to abandon his political comeback bid. Just weeks after he lost out to Liz Truss to lead the ruling Tories, Sunak therefore pulled off a stunning reversal in fortunes. The contest, triggered by outgoing leader Truss's resignation on Thursday, had required candidates to secure the support of at least 100 Conservative MPs by 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Monday.

Labour MP Barry Gardiner has raised concerns that the £645 million cash injection announced by the government for community pharmacy is, in effect, 'frozen funding' for the next two years. Speaking on Tuesday (May 9) on the BBC's Politics Live, Gardiner said funding for community pharmacies "was cut before 2015, then it was frozen and now the latest announcement says that it's going to be frozen for a further two years." He said with a current national contract, which already represented a 25 per cent funding cut in real terms, it was not appropriate to ask for community pharmacy "to take on more work" without adequate support. "I heard the prime minister earlier this morning (May 9) on TV saying 'we are investing more in pharmacies'. "No you are not. You just concluded a contract that says for the next two years it will be absolutely flatlined." He added that "there will be no more money" for community pharmacy and that steeply rising costs due to inflation were "eating into that contract's health". Gardiner said community pharmacists "do a phenomenal job" but regretted that from a total of just 11,000, some 700 pharmacies have been lost due to funding cuts.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) to host a Parliamentary drop-in event in July to brief MPs and Peers about the ongoing medicines supply chain issues that are negatively affecting pharmacies and their patients across the country. CPE's Pressures Survey earlier this year highlighted the extent of both the operational and financial impacts of medicines supply issues on pharmacy businesses, therefore it has continued to hear from both pharmacy owners and others about the problems. The event aims to ensure that MPs understand the problems and their impact on pharmacies. Peter Dowd MP is hosting the event, joined by representatives from Community Pharmacy England, the Nuffield Trust, patient groups and more. The event will also be another opportunity to talk to MPs from across the political spectrum about the very serious situation that community pharmacies still find themselves in and the need for further investment in the sector. Janet Morrison OBE, Chief executive of Community Pharmacy England said: "The results of our Pressures Survey earlier this year showed just how much supply issues are continuing to negatively impact pharmacy businesses and all those who work in them. The survey found that almost all pharmacy owners (97%) are facing significant increases in wholesaler and medicine supply issues, with 71% saying this was leading to delays in prescriptions being issued.

Two dozen parliamentarians from across the political spectrum have called on the prime minister to act as a wave of pharmacy closures in recent years has threatened to spiral out of control. A letter to the prime minister signed by 24 MPs and peers has warned that worse could be yet to come after "spiralling business costs" and "year after year of real terms funding cuts" have led to hundreds of pharmacy closures. New data from the PSNC shows that over 639 local pharmacies have been lost in England since 2016. "This is the equivalent to just short of one pharmacy closure per constituency", the cross-party group warned. The letter comes as MPs came together at a parliamentary summit to call for pharmacies to be embraced as a "game-changer" for tackling healthcare backlogs and taking pressure off other areas of the NHS. A 'Future of Pharmacy' event was attended by 53 parliamentarians on July 5 in the Palace of Westminster. At the event parliamentarians heard directly from frontline pharmacists and representatives of pharmacy bodies where a map of constituency-specific pharmacy numbers was also unveiled, with details of the number of pharmacy closures in MPs' local area.

The UK is lagging behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer survival, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has said, calling on all political parties to make cancer a top priority in their party manifestos. While cancer survival rates in the UK have doubled over the last 50 years, the charity warned that the hard-won progress is at risk of stalling, with NHS cancer services in "crisis" and around half a million cancer cases a year projected by 2040. The charity has published an ambitious cancer plan which, if adopted by the next UK government, could dramatically improve cancer outcomes and prevent 20,000 cancer deaths a year by 2040. Called "Longer Better Lives: A Manifesto for Cancer Research and Care", the plan has been developed with the insights of cancer patients and experts from across health, life sciences, government and academic sectors, it said.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has expressed "extreme disappointment" that the UK government offered new pay to NHS consultants, while nursing pay deal remain disputed. RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen has written to new Health Secretary Victoria Atkins demanding fresh negotiations regarding this year's pay deal, and requested an urgent meeting to discuss their dispute. Pat warned that more than 100,000 RCN members in England voted for continued strike action in June, as they feel undervalued. "The government has now shown it has the political will to negotiate on pay reform for some of the highest earners in the NHS in contrast to our members who received the lowest pay rise in the public sector," she wrote in the letter. NHS nursing staff in England was awarded a five per cent pay rise 2023/24, but the union argued that it is not enough to keep up with inflation.

Community pharmacy representatives and MPs from across all political parties discussed the impact of winter pressures on pharmacies in England during a parliamentary drop-in event held on Tuesday (5 December). As many as 34 MPs attended the event, including Bradford South MP Judith Cummins, who hosted the event. Members of the Community Pharmacy England (CPE) Policy Team and LPC leaders briefed the politicians about the current winter pressures that all NHS community pharmacies are grappling with, and asked them to help get more support. CPE Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: "Community pharmacies play an active role to support their patients throughout the winter period, but the sector needs fair and proper funding to enable its vital services to be delivered in the long term. This event came at a key moment for the sector as we work towards implementing the Pharmacy First service and negotiations begin for the 2024/25 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF).

Amid the ongoing furore over shortages of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test kits that led pharmacy staff to bear customers' wrath, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Company Chemists Association (CCA) have jointly appealed the public to be "patient and courteous to pharmacy teams". In an open letter, the two organisations have urged patients and customers to be patient, courteous and safe while visiting their local pharmacies. Highlighting the efforts put in by healthcare workers to keep everyone safe through this tough winter, the two organisations said the pressure of Covid-19 and shortage of LFD kits have sometimes led to verbal abuse of pharmacy staff. Mark Lyonette, NPA chief executive said: "The vast majority of pharmacy customers and patients are polite and understanding. The supply situation with Lateral Flow Tests is stretching people's patience, but that's no excuse for abusive behaviour and people need to understand the constraints on pharmacy teams at this time." Alongside their routine job of providing medicines, health advice and a range of NHS services, pharmacies have put in extra effort to protect people during the pandemic.

The Parliamentarians have called the government to urgently consider the short-term funding to stabilise the community pharmacy sector. 39 MPs and Peers from across the political spectrum have signed letters to the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay MP and raised their growing concern about the pressures facing England's community pharmacies and the risks this poses to patient care and safety. "Steve Barclay MP received correspondence from 23 Opposition MPs, with six Peers also signing a letter. Separately, 9 Conservative MPs also wrote to the Health Secretary and up to 10 others have signalled their intention to write to the relevant Minister," said the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). The Parliamentarians acknowledged that pharmacies have the potential to do more to support the NHS and they called for the government to urgently consider a commitment to working with the sector to create a fair and fit for purpose future funding model that ensures sustainability and properly funds pharmacies for what they do. All signatories also called for the introduction of a fairly-funded Pharmacy First service.

A group of 20 MPs from the different political parties, including Dame Priti Patel and Judith Cummins, have written a joint letter to health minister Andrea Leadsom, calling for urgent action to address the pressures faced by community pharmacies. Taking note of rising pharmacy closures, they have highlighted the need for more investment and support from the government. Recent NHS figures showed that around 1,400 pharmacies have closed permanently since October 2016, and many more are withdrawing services or reducing their opening hours, particularly in deprived areas. The MPs have urged the pharmacy minister to commit to making essential changes including a fair and sustainable core funding model, an effective implementation of the Pharmacy First service and an expansion into other clinical service areas.

What initially began as two close friends taking a leisurely walk to escape their everyday routine has evolved into a meaningful endeavour to support the fight against cancer. Jamie Sparrow, Senior Vice President - Commercial, EMENA at Accord Healthcare, and Jamie Durbidge, Owner & Managing Director of Perennial Pharma, will be undertaking a 5-day walking challenge to support The Luke Hart Foundation in raising funds for Cancer Research UK. The two Jamies have been friends for more than 15 years and worked together at Mylan, now Viatris, where Jamie S served as Managing Director, while Jamie D held the position of Sales Director for some years. During the COVID pandemic when everybody was stuck at home, the two friends, both early risers, used to spend hours in the mornings walking and talking over the phone, about anything and everything - work, life, family, the Pharmaceutical Industry, politics, sport, and about challenges that people were having during the lockdown. After continuing this routine for several months, they eventually planned to transform their daily ritual into a "walking and talking" trip to reconnect, catch up on things, and enjoy some time together and with friends who wanted to join them.