Grantham MP Gareth Davies has met with representatives from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) to learn more about the challenges facing community pharmacies.
Community pharmacies do much more than simply dispense medicine – they play a vital role in our communities, offering advice and care. In fact, 7 in 10 people regard face-to-face advice from a pharmacist or other member of the pharmacy team as very important to them.
One of the aims of the PSNC is for pharmacies to be allowed to expand their role in primary care. Progress is being made in this area, with the Government committed to expanding the range of services available from community pharmacies, such as the powers to prescribe certain medications where it makes sense, freeing up time for GPs to support patients with more complex needs. This position was made clear in the Government’s recently published ‘Our Plan for Patients’ and should free up an estimated 2 million GP appointments, highlighting the integral work of pharmacists.
The PSNC made clear to Gareth that an issue faced by community pharmacies is the level of funding they receive from the NHS. As it stands, the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework five-year deal commits £2.5 billion in each financial year between 2019 and 2024 for community pharmacies.
Gareth said: “I was delighted to hear from representatives of the PSNC at their event in Parliament about the vital work of community pharmacies and their aims for the future of their profession.
“Having visited Well Grantham Pharmacy on Hornsby Road just last year, I am very aware of the central role pharmacists have in our healthcare network, and of their resilient work during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.