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Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting outlined his plans for NHS reform on Friday (21 April), where he also mentioned a desire to see pharmacies take on more workload and pharmacists' clinical skills to be better utilised. In his speech, he also expressed concern at warnings from the pharmacy sector and pharmacy closures. The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) appreciated Shadow Health Secretary's desire to enhance pharmacies' role in primary care reform but also stated that the sector is in urgently needs a funding injection. Dr. Nick Thayer, Head of Policy at the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) comment: "We are pleased to see the Shadow Health Secretary recognise the enhanced role that pharmacies should play in primary care reform. Mr Streeting wants to see care brought closer to people's homes and more front doors into the NHS. With 89.2% of the population located within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy, pharmacies do just that. They are essential to realising his vision of a 'neighbourhood health service'. Pharmacies could free up over 42m GP appointments annually, including 10m vaccination appointments. Urgent same-day appointments for minor conditions in pharmacies will immediately benefit patients by increasing GP access. The first step is for the Government to immediately commission a fully-funded Pharmacy First service in England.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has partnered with training provider Skills 4 Pharmacy to provide Level 2 and Level 3 pharmacy apprenticeships to its members in England. Skills 4 Pharmacy is an experienced pharmacy apprenticeship training provider dedicated to initiating and developing the careers of pharmacy support staff and technicians. They manage the recruitment of apprentices, as well as their enrolment and training. The apprenticeship package offers a Level 2 Apprenticeship - Pharmacy support worker and Level 3 Apprenticeship - Pharmacy technician. Amerjit Singh, Managing Director at Skills 4 Pharmacy said: "As a member for the last 23 years it is a great honour to be able to work alongside the NPA and promote apprenticeships. "As contractors we are facing challenging times, however I firmly believe that apprenticeship programmes which upskill and empower our workforce are essential for our future survival. Apprenticeships are a great way to build a strong talent pipeline and bring new skills to pharmacies.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has republished a three-year-old report which underscores the vital role of community pharmacists and pharmacy t echnicians in a 'modern NHS' amid speculations that the government is set to announce plans to enhance the role of community pharmacy teams. PDA's 2019 report which "took three year to compile" highlighted significant empirical evidence and made recommendations to develop the roles of both community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and the skill mix required to meet patients' needs. It examined in detail the role of pharmacy technicians in community pharmacy. The PDA still that pressure on the NHS can be managed much more effectively through the better use of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. In the community pharmacy setting, it is evident that if the further development of the pharmacist's role is to be facilitated and pharmacists are to become more patient facing in the future, an extended role and greater responsibility for pharmacy technicians is not only desirable, but ultimately it is essential.

In a recent interview with The Telegraph, health secretary Steve Barclay stated that he has asked his officials within DHSC to look at a "pharmacy first" approach to alleviate pressures on A&E departments in order to avoid the widely predicted NHS winter crisis. On the face of it, this a welcome if long overdue recognition that community pharmacy is an essential part of our national healthcare infrastructure alongside our GP and A&E colleagues. But let's not get carried away - we have had lots of praise from politicians in the past which have not then been backed by firm commitments for a sustainable future for the network. Could this be a turning point? I hope so, but I am not confident it will be. I fear this may turn out to be another emergency stop-gap measure which does nothing to secure the long-term viability of the sector in England. The role of community pharmacy during the recent Covid pandemic demonstrated clearly how important we are to ensure people have easy access to essential healthcare support, advice and services. The NHS winter crisis can only be avoided or at least mitigated if the potential of the community pharmacy network to provide more patient care services is unlocked and that Barclay requires you to end pharmacy funding austerity and start investing. The Treasury will no doubt say there is no more money, but what then the alternative other than a NHS winter crisis? And, of course, treating people in secondary care settings is far more costly than community pharmacy based interventions.

All pharmacy businesses are reporting that they are struggling to find the registered professionals needed to open their pharmacies, clarified the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) in response to an attack by the Pharmacists' Defence Association. Last week, PDA allegedly accused some large pharmacy chains of 'orchestrating' full or part-time closures of some of their shops due to the staff shortage. In its Open Letter published on Tuesday (July 19), PDA demanded urgent action "to protect patients by ensuring that essential community pharmacy services are provided safely and consistently". "All parts of the healthcare system are struggling to recruit staff and to assume that pharmacies would be immune to such pressures, seems fanciful," said CCA. "CCA members are working extraordinarily hard to prevent temporary closures, but recruitment and retention of pharmacists is becoming increasingly tough. The recent rise in Covid cases and the beginning of the summer holiday season in parts of the UK have only worsened the situation." The Association also showed data from the PSNC Pharmacy Pressures Survey (April 2022) which found that 91 per cent of pharmacies are experiencing staff shortages, clearly demonstrating that these shortages are affecting the entire sector.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has called pharmacy employers and pharmacy trade unions to come together to a round table meeting to agree on principles for a way forward that ensures patients benefit consistently from access to high quality, adequately staffed, safe pharmacy services. It has also urged the governments, NHS organisations and individual pharmacy teams to define clear prioritisation plans, which can be embedded in organisational business continuity plans which set out the pharmacy services that are essential and must always be provided and can be de-prioritised at specific levels of pressures. The challenges for pharmacies are compounded by the escalating cost of living crisis. With unprecedented levels of burnout among pharmacists, pharmacy closures and the potential for strike action, RPS has called for three things- 'professionalism, respect and prioritisation.'

Politicians, researchers and pharmacy leaders called on the government to make community pharmacy a fundamental part of clinical services at an event at the House of Commons on Wednesday (13). At the launch of a research publication carried out by the University of Bath in conjunction with Sigma Pharmaceuticals, community pharmacy was described as an "essential pillar of health care provision" in the UK. The aim of this research was to provide evidence to support a strategy for the future developments of community pharmacy to ensure the sector continues to meet the needs of the public in the NHS. Researchers analysed 25 health and community pharmacy related policies published by the department of health, the NHS, the pharmacy profession, and spoke to stakeholders from a wide range of backgrounds, including patients, pharmacists, NHS commissioners and GPS.

The English health secretary has fumbled the opportunity to prevent a crisis in the NHS this winter. She either does not understand or value the role of community pharmacy as the third pillar of patient access to essential healthcare. Her announcement that she wants community pharmacy to provide more services to take the strain off A&E departments and GP surgeries comes on the same day DHSC announces no new long-term investment to sustain the sector. Does she not understand that as a result of years of government underinvestment in England the network is in decline with random closures across the country? Too many pharmacies are temporarily closed every day due to workforce shortages beyond the control of pharmacy owners. Adding a new service here and there, even with some additional funding, does not address the longer term viability of the network which needs to know which patient services it will be expected to provide over the next 10 years - not just the next few months - and how those will be adequately remunerated. Asking more from our sector with no new investment is a strategy which is bound to fail. The pharmacy contract remains economically illiterate. The sector's finances need open heart surgery not a couple of paracetamol tablets.

Recently, the English Health Secretary has talked about introducing a 'Pharmacy First' model similar to that which exists in Scotland. This would be a win-win outcome providing people with better access to essential healthcare support, advice and treatment whilst relieving strain on other parts of the NHS, not least GPs and A&E. It is a no-brainer and yet despite a few media headlines there are still no firm proposals on the table to make this a reality. It surely cannot be right that you can receive a broad range of patient care services in Scotland which are not available in England. It works well in Scotland, Wales is keen to develop more pharmacy-based services and Northern Ireland, leaving aside the current funding dispute, has had a minor ailments service for many years. If the English Health Secretary is sincere in his interest in adopting an English version of the Scottish model, then there are critical aspects he needs to consider. Firstly, start with the patient journey through the healthcare ecosystem from illness prevention through to long-term condition management. What is the role of community pharmacy and how do we guide people to seek support from the most appropriate healthcare professional? What is the vision for community pharmacy delivering patient care in the next decade? The lesson from Scotland is that the government needs to sit down with the sector and map that out together. There are no quick fix overnight solutions. This needs to be a long-term commitment backed by adequate funding. Supervision regulations need to change and there needs to be a thought through workforce strategy which avoids community pharmacy shortages as that does nothing to deliver improved patient outcomes.

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.

PSNC has urged community pharmacy contractors and LPCs to engage with their local MPs on the immense pressures that pharmacies are facing. The organisaiton has also published some new resources to help pharmacists in this regard. "PSNC is deeply aware of the funding crisis affecting the sector and is working hard to increase the pressure on [the] government to act now with an urgent funding uplift. This has included upping investment in influencing activities and working closely with LPCs to take united action," it said. PSNC has last month launched its Four Point Plan to safeguard the future of community pharmacy, setting out how pharmacy could be the solution to a number of problems if, and only if, it is properly funded, resourced and supported. As pressures continue to mount, further briefings now focus solely on the urgent need to resolve the funding squeeze in order to protect existing pharmacy services.

On World Pharmacists' Day, the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society NI (PSNI) thanked pharmacists working in every sector of pharmacy in Northern Ireland (NI) for their continued service to the public. The theme of this year's International Pharmaceutical Federation's World Pharmacists' Day, (25 September 2022) was 'Pharmacy united in action for a healthier world'. In acknowledgement of the day, Dr. Jim Livingstone, president of the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society NI said: "The theme of this year's World Pharmacists' Day, 'Pharmacy united in action for a healthier world' highlights pharmacy's positive impact on health around the world and seeks to further strengthen solidarity amongst the profession. "In Northern Ireland, pharmacy played a prominent role in primary health care throughout the pandemic and remains the public's most trusted and accessible frontline health care profession. "As pharmacy continues to develop additional services for the public and encompasses broader roles for pharmacists than ever before, it is essential, no matter what pharmacy sector pharmacists practise in, that the Pharmaceutical Society NI's Code (Professional standards of conduct, ethics and performance for pharmacists in Northern Ireland) remains at the core of pharmacists' practice. It is through this adherence to the Code, that pharmacy remains a united profession, providing positive health outcomes for patients and maintaining public trust.

Bestway operates approximately 750 pharmacies nationwide in the UK under the Well brand. In April 2023, it completed its acquisition of Lexon, which operates 46 pharmacies in the UK under the Knights Pharmacy brand, and Asurex, a wholesale perfume supplier. On 26th May 2023, CMA announced the launch of its merger inquiry. A fast-track Phase 1 investigation found that the merger could lead to a significant lessening of competition between retail pharmacies in 12 local areas located in Liverpool and North East England. The merging businesses conceded that the deal raises competition concerns in these areas and have submitted proposals to sell pharmacies within these areas to restore the competition that would otherwise be lost as a result of the deal. Colin Raftery, CMA Senior Director of Mergers, said: "Pharmacies are essential public health services, and it's vital that the loss of competition brought about by a deal like this shouldn't leave people with reduced choice or worse services when they need medical support. The CMA will now carefully consider whether the remedy put forward by Bestway will address its concerns and ensure that customers in the affected areas continue to have access to good quality chemists.

As the Easter holiday draws near, pharmacies across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are readying themselves to provide essential healthcare services to residents. Operational throughout Good Friday (March 29), Easter Sunday (March 31), and Easter Monday (April 1), these pharmacies stand poised to offer vital support to those in need. NHS England has raised awareness by releasing a comprehensive list of pharmacies scheduled to operate during the holiday period. Hampshire residents, including those in Southampton and Portsmouth, can access detailed information about open pharmacies on the NHS England website, along with separate listings for the Isle of Wight. However, it's important to note that opening times may vary, prompting individuals to confirm details before visiting, as schedules are subject to change. Beyond merely dispensing prescriptions, pharmacies are equipped to provide expert advice on minor illnesses and administer treatments for common conditions. This includes addressing issues such as shingles, sore throats, infected insect bites, earaches, sinusitis, impetigo, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI) under the Pharmacy First scheme.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has launched a four point plan at its parliamentary drop-in event for MPs and peers hosted on Tuesday (15 November). The event lasted for two hours, during which MPs had the opportunity to drop-in and have their blood pressure measured by pharmacists with experience of working on the front-line and were briefed on the urgent need for action to address the pressures on the sector. Outline of the four-point plan: Resolve the funding squeeze: Community pharmacy needs an immediate funding uplift to prevent large-scale pharmacy closures, as well as emergency business relief to get through this winter. Tackle regulatory and other burdens: Pharmacies must be protected from medicines market shocks, supported to help them weather the workforce crisis, helped to free up capacity and freed from red tape that does not enhance patient care. Help pharmacies to expand their role in primary care: Pharmacies could do more to support the delivery of primary care for example through offering clinical services for long-term conditions - like hypertension, diabetes and respiratory disease, supporting people to adopt healthier lifestyles and prevent the development of long-term conditions, medicines optimisation, and a much wider variety of NHS vaccinations.

The recent announcement that Royal Mail will be partnering with distance selling pharmacy (DSP) giant pharmacy2U highlights how standards of regulatory enforcement are being ignored to accommodate the DSP model. The brunt of these double standards hinges around the levelling down of temperature enforcement standards by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which demands mapping must be audited from the point of dispensing to the patient. The MHRA has a well recognised duty to ensure medicines reach patients in a safe condition. The current anomaly appears to turn a blind eye to this step in the supply chain at the point the wholesaler releases goods to the pharmacy hub. Equally the training on delivering medicines safely and effectively direct to patients should apply fully to all hubs including DSPs. Why is it that DSPs are being treated differently to bricks and mortar pharmacies? It's essentially the same patients receiving the same medicines from the same wholesalers. A further regulatory disparity exists around how parcels must be "tracked and signed for" to be reasonably certain medicines are delivered into the hand of the intended recipient, as per existing regulations. Clearly an untracked, unsigned package cannot be guaranteed to finish in the hands of the intended recipient. There is a very real possibility that such omission could lead to community pharmacy closures which will, in turn, lead to unemployment and a reduction in the care services. At a time when integrated care systems have just gone live, the removal of vital support services leading to further inequalities is the wrong message for both providers and patients alike.

Has the government in England learned nothing from the Covid-19 pandemic? Nigel Swift, Managing Director of Rowlands Pharmacy, part of Numark, the UK's largest pharmacy membership association, asks reflecting on the disorderly launch of this year's flu and Covid booster vaccination program as evidence to the contrary. "Community pharmacies play a crucial role in ensuring eligible individuals can easily access their free NHS flu and Covid vaccinations," Swift said, adding that delivering this essential service necessitates pharmacy staff allocating time for preparation and appointment scheduling. "Just a few weeks ago, NHSE informed us that the vaccination program would be postponed until October, prompting pharmacies to plan accordingly and notify patients," he said. "However, NHSE has now reversed its decision and set the program to commence on Sept. 11. Pharmacy recommended an earlier start, but NHSE opted for a delay instead, resulting in avoidable problems." On Aug. 30, NHSE announced plans to move up the start of the autumn vaccination drive in England to September 11, deviating from the initial October schedule, citing concerns about a new Covid-19 variant.

Pharmacies lead among the list of 16 'most essential' services required for a neighbourhood, as revealed by the 2023 Community Barometer survey commissioned by the Association of Convenience Stores. In June, ACS commissioned Yonder Consulting to conduct a poll surveying the opinions of 1,000 people across the UK. The survey assessed how these individuals value 16 different services in their local area, defined as the region within a 15-minute walk from their homes. The survey's essential services included pharmacies, post offices, convenience stores, banks, petrol stations, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, specialist food shops, non-food shops, fast food shops, vape shops, charity shops, pawnbrokers, hairdressers, and gyms or sports facilities.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC)'s members are seeking immediate rescue packages for the sector to help with energy bills and to ease capacity constraints. In a meeting held on 14th and 15th September, the committee members expressed their anger and frustration on the reluctance of NHS England and government to fund pharmacy sustainably. The meeting was held to consider practical steps to ease the pressures on the community pharmacy sector, and to oversee the progress of negotiations on the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) and other work. Committee members, as pharmacy contractors, shared their experiences of the current pressures on all contractors, including the inability to deliver some services and to maintain core service levels; the capacity and workforce crises facing the sector; the critical need for funding support this winter; and the urgent need for Government to adapt the Price Concessions system to meet the needs of contractors. "The Price Concessions system is no longer working for contractors in the current volatile medicine supply environment and PSNC is clear this is not acceptable," said the committee.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has published an update on the work it is doing as part of the Transforming Pharmacy Representation (TAPR) Programme to take forward the mandate from contractors to deliver the Review Steering Group (RSG) recommendations. The update is primarily aimed at LPCs - with whom PSNC has been working closely on some of the TAPR work over the summer. The TAPR Programme is being undertaken in support of PSNC's work to address the severe challenges facing the community pharmacy sector at present. Alongside ongoing negotiations with Government and the NHS, two of the TAPR workstreams - focusing on Vision and Strategy, and on Influencing and Negotiation - are essential to supporting CPCF negotiations. "The workstreams are looking at the future of community pharmacy and how best to persuade policymakers to implement a shared vision, with their objective being to put the sector in a stronger position going into future CPCF negotiations," said PSNC.