Local pharmacy leaders were urged to cement their core role in healthcare delivery by Dr Amanda Doyle OBE, NHS England’s national director for primary care and community services.
She described pharmacist prescribing as a potential ‘game changer’ at Community Pharmacy England’s (CPE’s) annual conference of Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) representatives.
And she also called for greater use of automation and support staff to free up pharmacists to deliver new clinical services.
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‘Pharmacy needs a voice at the table locally. Without that, we’ll miss a trick,’ she said, encouraging LPCs to represent the sector in planning discussions and GP-pharmacy collaboration.
The day’s other keynote speaker, CPE chief executive Janet Morrison, emphasised the need to stabilise the sector’s finances. She said the sector felt ‘stung’ by the previous multi-year settlement and indicated that a one-year deal is expected this time around.
A series of LPC-led discussion sessions throughout the day focused on the future in independent prescribing, potential improvements to the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF), and how LPCs can be of benefit to pharmacy owners.
The event was attended by delegates representing 49 out of the 50 LPCs in England.
The conference was followed by a stakeholder reception to launch CPE’s new report, ‘A Prescription for Success’, with LPCs joined by NHS policy leads, health charities, think tanks, pharmacy and wider primary care professionals, and patient representatives.
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Director of LPC and pharmacy owner support at CPE, James Wood, said: ‘The annual conference of LPC representatives is an important opportunity to spend time discussing strategic issues and ideas with our network of brilliant local leaders. I’m always encouraged by the amount of great work going on across the regions.’
He said the conference identified the top priorities for LPCs in 2026: negotiating local funding opportunities, supporting neighbourhood development and integration, and optimising services.
‘We heard loud and clear that financial stability remains the foundation for progress. While the NHS faces tight spending limits, CPE will continue to fight for fair funding and capacity-releasing measures in upcoming negotiations,’ he added.
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A Prescription for Success was published last month and renewed calls for national community pharmacy bodies to have a ‘coherent and consistent’ voice.
The report called on policymakers, commissioners, and system leaders to engage community pharmacy in service transformation, invest in digital and physical infrastructure, integrate pharmacy workforce planning, and reform the CPCF.
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