Pharmacies should be given a bigger role in supporting lung health to improve respiratory health outcomes, enhance access to care, and ease winter pressures on the NHS, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has urged.
Launching a new joint action plan with Taskforce for Lung Health, CPE recommended expanding community pharmacy services to include the provision of further respiratory care such as annual asthma reviews and pneumococcal vaccinations to help prevent a future winter respiratory health crisis.
CPE outlined that lung diseases are the leading driver of emergency admissions, and last winter saw many parts of the NHS overwhelmed as the rise in flu admissions led to exceptionally high demands for emergency hospital services.
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It has called on the government and the NHS to make better use of community pharmacies to support lung health, specifically by commissioning a wide range of NHS vaccinations, including RSV, pneumococcal and catch-up child flu vaccinations from a larger number of community pharmacies.
Last month, NHS England announced that up to 200 additional pharmacies would be able to offer the RSV immunisation programme during 2025/26 – on top of the around 40 community pharmacy sites that currently offer the national programme which is open to older adults and pregnant women.
CPE also highlighted the need for a national community pharmacy smoking cessation service, which any smoker could access without needing a referral, and for the launch of a community pharmacist prescribing service to include the provision of annual asthma reviews and inhaler technique checks.
The launch of the joint initiative coincides with YouGov polling that found four out of five people across England would support these policy proposals.
This includes backing pharmacies to offer more help with assessments and support for people with asthma (85%), a wider range of vaccinations (85%), and stop smoking services without needing a referral (84%).
The same poll found that community pharmacy was the most accessible healthcare location for the public last winter, ahead of general practice, dentists and hospital services.
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Alastair Buxton, director of NHS Services at CPE, said that despite being under huge pressures themselves, community pharmacies provided critical services and remained our most accessible healthcare assets with millions of people continuing turn to pharmacies for healthcare advice, particularly as they struggle to access other parts of the NHS.
He added: ‘Community pharmacies have long been the front door to the NHS, and the YouGov polling has confirmed just how much the nation relies on them, as well as the strong public support for pharmacies to provide even more health services. We should be protecting this valuable healthcare asset and making much better use of their clinical skills.’
CPE said it was vital that the sector’s role was embedded into the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, accompanied by a sustainable funding and operational model to protect the network of community pharmacies.
In September, the government-commissioned Darzi review concluded that community pharmacy had ‘huge potential’ to provide ‘even more value-added services for the NHS’, especially with the advent of pharmacist prescribing on a more widespread scale.
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A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Pharmacies are integral to the fabric of our communities and we want them to play a bigger role as we shift care out of hospitals and into the community through our Plan for Change.
'We have recently agreed an extra £617 million of funding over two years with Community Pharmacy England. This deal includes the New Medicine Service, which focuses on treatments for long-term conditions, including asthma and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, helping to support the sector and provide patients with greater services closer to home.'
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