BREAKING: Pharmacists to staff new neighbourhood health centres

Pharmacists will staff the government’s new neighbourhood health centres alongside nurses, doctors, social care workers and others, the Prime Minister has announced.

Sir Keir Starmer has this evening set out early details of the highly anticipated 10-year plan for the NHS ahead of its publication in the morning – largely focusing on the government’s ambitions for a Neighbourhood Health Service.

As part of this, the government has confirmed the launch of new neighbourhood health centres which will ‘eventually’ be open 12 hours a day, six days a week within local communities.

These centres will bring ‘historically hospital-based services into the community’, including diagnostics, post-operative care and rehab, while also providing services such weight management, stop smoking, debt advice and employment support.

Pharmacists are among the list of professionals named by the government of who will staff these neighbourhood centres – but it has not yet clarified whether this includes, community, practice and/or hospital pharmacists.

‘These neighbourhood health centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of healthcare services right on people’s doorsteps – stopping them from having to make lengthy trip to hospitals,’ the government said.

‘Neighbourhood teams will include staff like nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, palliative care staff, and paramedics.’

Community workers and volunteers will also ‘play a pivotal role in these teams’.

Sir Keir said: ‘Our 10 Year Health Plan will fundamentally rewire and future-proof our NHS so that it puts care on people’s doorsteps, harnesses game-changing tech and prevents illness in the first place.

‘That means giving everyone access to GPs, nurses, and wider support all under one roof in their neighbourhood – rebalancing our health system so that it fits around patients’ lives, not the other way round.’

And he pledged that patients would have ‘easier, quicker and more convenient care, wherever they live’.

Responding to the announcement, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association Henry Gregg said it was vital that pharmacies are ‘placed at the heart of these plans’.

‘The 10,000 NHS pharmacies in England are right in the heart of their communities on high streets, in health centres, close to people’s doorsteps, providing health care and advice to millions every week,’ he said.

‘Pharmacies want to be able to offer better, more joined up care for their communities so they share the government’s ambition to bring care closer to people.

‘It's important that pharmacies, who already do this work day in day out, are placed at the heart of these plans.’

Mr Gregg stressed that investing in the sector ‘can create a future where people can drop in for treatment, check-ups, medicine reviews, and advice’.

‘Pharmacies want to work with GPs, social workers and colleagues across the health service to provide better health care, nearer to people’s homes and take pressure off the NHS,’ he added.

Chief executive of Community Pharmacy England (CPE) Janet Morrison said: ‘The government’s plan aligns well with the value that pharmacies can bring and will begin to harness the sector’s potential for the benefit of patients, communities and the wider NHS.’

She added that the sector has a ‘unique ability to break down barriers to care, coupled with an astonishingly strong record on efficiency’.

‘But before this plan can become a reality, first the government must deliver on its commitment to build the sustainable funding model that community pharmacy so desperately needs,’ said Ms Morrison.

‘The millions of people relying on them every day don’t want to lose their local pharmacies to financial collapse, which is something the government should carefully consider as it seeks to implement its plan.

‘This plan is not the end of the road; it’s just the beginning.’

Chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) Malcolm Harrison added: ‘The network of 10,000 community pharmacies in England are already driving a “neighbourhood health” agenda, delivering high-quality healthcare from within local communities.

‘Pharmacies are therefore well-placed to take on a bigger role in the government’s plan for a “Neighbourhood Health Service”.’

Mr Harrison added that expanding Pharmacy First and incorporating independent prescribing into the service was ‘a no-brainer’.

He suggested this would bring care closer to people’s homes, save millions of GP appointments and reduce unnecessary hospital visits’.

Director of pharmacy at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Elen Jones said: ‘We welcome the government’s ambition to deliver more care in local communities and prioritise prevention.

‘With the right investment and integration into neighbourhood health services under the plan, pharmacy teams can play a transformative role in improving population health and enabling better care across the NHS.’

Last month the health secretary outlined his ambitions to drive ‘much of what is done’ in hospitals towards ‘the high street’ and remote services over the next decade.