CPE 'expects' NHS to work with local pharmacy committees

Community Pharmacy England ‘expects’ to see Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and Place partnerships working with Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) leads to develop a coherent 'voice' in local planning discussions according its report launched today.

The report, ‘A Prescription for Success – the role of community pharmacy in delivering the 10 year plan for health’, also asks for ‘clear clinical leadership for pharmacy’ across ICBs and renews calls for national community pharmacy bodies to have a ‘coherent and consistent voice’ .

One of the three ‘shifts’ described in the government’s 10 year health plan is the move from hospital to community, which aims to establish a Neighbourhood Health Service and this report positions community pharmacy as a ‘cornerstone’ of this plan.

‘The next decade offers an unprecedented opportunity to transform the community pharmacy sector into a cornerstone of the Neighbourhood Health Service—delivering integrated, accessible, and preventative care to communities across England,’ it states.

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However, to deliver this plan ‘it is critical that local leaders develop a full understanding of pharmacy and its capabilities,’ the report adds. This includes independent prescribing, pharmacists’ role in managing long-term health conditions, complex medication regimes, and preventative care.

CPE also stressed the importance of public engagement because ‘pharmacy service provision remains ill understood by the general public’ despite a public appetite for accessing a wider range of services in community pharmacies.

To address this, the report proposed a communications campaign to inform the public about the growing role of pharmacies.

The report also posed the question: how will the IT and estates needs of community pharmacy be included in local and national plans?

Not enough has been done to ensure that pharmacies have the appropriate hardware and software for the services they provide, it states, and there is also a need to invest in physical premises too.

CPE also acknowledged that the pharmacy workforce is changing, with teams moving towards more clinically focused roles. By 2026, all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers and the 10 year Workforce Plan – promised in the 10 year health plan – ‘must include’ community pharmacy.

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The 10 year plan only makes specific reference to the future medical and nursing workforces.

Overall, the report calls on policymakers, commissioners, and system leaders to:

• Engage community pharmacy in service transformation;
• Invest in digital and physical infrastructure;
• Strengthen commissioning capacity;
• Integrate pharmacy workforce planning; and
• Reform the community pharmacy contract.

Janet Morrison, chief executive of CPE, said: ‘This important review sets out a clear pathway to ensure the pharmacies of tomorrow can become a cornerstone of neighbourhood health. It’s landing at a pivotal moment as policymakers are working out how best to implement the 10-Year Plan and CPE prepares to enter discussions on what comes next for the sector.

‘The sector is being held back by a number of barriers and obstacles which need to be overcome. This report identifies these challenges and then describes what needs to happen to help pharmacies thrive.’

Author of the report, Helen Buckingham, added: ‘Community pharmacies are a familiar presence on every high street, trusted by patients and increasingly recognised for the contribution they make to neighbourhood healthcare, which goes far beyond the dispensing of medicines.

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‘But there is work to be done at both national and local level to ensure that community pharmacy can fully realise its potential.’

She highlighted the need for investment in both workforce and infrastructure if the government want to deliver their 10 year plan – without those things, there is a ‘real risk’ this opportunity will be missed.