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The Welsh government has reached an agreement with the NHS and Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW)-the statutory representative body for all community pharmacies-on a six per cent funding increase as part of the 2024/25 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF). The £9.9 million increase will bring the total CPCF funding to £175 million per year, representing a 24 per cent rise in funding since 2017. In a statement published on 20 December 2024, Jeremy Miles, cabinet secretary for health and social care, said that the additional investment will be used to address "both immediate pressures facing community pharmacies and to maintain momentum on our longer-term ambitions for reform." Miles also said that the government would continue to invest in integrating pharmacies in primary care clusters, developing the skills and scope of practice of the wider community pharmacy workforce including pharmacy technicians, and the Choose Pharmacy IT system. In contrast, community pharmacies in England are still awaiting progress on CPCF negotiations for 2024/25. Last month, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) warned of the sector's worsening financial situation, urging ministers to provide immediate funding relief.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) on Wednesday confirmed that several MPs have come forward to support their campaign for fair funding for pharmacy students, as well as announced their plan to take the campaign to Wales. The campaign that began last year is focussed on the issue of pharmacy students being left out of the scope of the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF), which provides supplementary funding for healthcare students in England. MPharm students and PDA Student Reps have been sending letters to their MPs requesting them to escalate the issue to the health minister, and they have been able to gather considerable support. "There appears to be some cross-party support for the campaign, with welcome responses coming from Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs," the PDA said.

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.

Alliance Healthcare UK team members Nick Atkins, Swansea Service Centre Manager, and Karl Goodall, Swansea Driver Team Manager, have climbed Pen y Fan in South Wales to support the Alzheimer's Society and raise money for dementia. The pair raised over £1,500, a cause close to Nick's heart, as his mother is a dementia patient. Dementia mainly affects people aged 65 and over, with 65 per cent of the 944,000 individuals living with dementia in the UK being women. Nick and Karl, dressed as 'glamorous grannies' with wigs, tights, and dresses, completed the mountain trek in six hours, carrying an Alliance Healthcare medicines cool box weighing over 35 kg. Alzheimer's Society supports people with dementia and their carers through national care and research efforts. Alzheimer's Society Cymru is the sole UK dementia charity funding both biomedical and care research.

A new report has highlighted that the public places a higher value on medicines for severe medical conditions, such as terminal cancer, than the thresholds currently used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The study, conducted by the Office of Health Economics (OHE), found a misalignment between NICE's current 'severity modifier'-which determines whether a medicine is recommended for coverage on the National Health Service (NHS)-and the UK public's preference for prioritising health gains for more severe diseases. The research, commissioned and funded by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), also indicated that the public is willing to pay more for medicines used to treat patients with severe disease. Titled 'Understanding Societal Preferences for Priority by Disease Severity in England and Wales,' the report suggested that NICE's current severity modifier may be limiting access to innovative treatments for NHS patients. The ABPI has called on the government and NICE to adopt a more flexible approach when assessing medicines for severe conditions.