The Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has joined hands with other national primary care bodies to urge the government to take a “clear and decisive action” to support primary care.
The CPE has issued a joint statement along with the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee, the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee and The National Association for Primary Care Audiology Providers.
These organisations will be briefing supportive and engaged MPs, including those who will be attending the joint Primary Care Parliamentary briefing event in January 2026.
They will also be calling on ministers to “use financial levers to support a long-term, funded plan that rebuilds capacity, supports innovation and places patient choice at the heart of the Government’s plans”.
The joint statement welcomed Chancellor Rachel Reeves' commitment to the NHS in the Budget, but said it did not provide the clear financial detail that primary care providers had hoped for.
"We welcome any steps that help strengthen the foundations of the NHS and support the services patients rely on every day.
"Primary care is the front door of the NHS – of the 1.5 million patients treated by the NHS each day, more than 75 percent are seen and treated in primary care without the need to visit a hospital.
"Yet, primary care continues to face severe pressures due to funding cuts, workforce shortages and a disproportionate focus on secondary care.
"Without meaningful investment to restore and rebuild the whole of primary care, there will be limited capacity to deliver the shifts from treatment to prevention and from hospital to community that the Government rightly seeks as part of a neighbourhood health service."
It said the primary care providers are ready to support the NHS in its drive to meet the rising demand of a growing ageing population and improve patients’ access to care close to home.
"This will only be possible with clear and decisive action by the Government using financial levers to support a long-term, funded plan that rebuilds capacity, supports innovation and places patient choice at the heart of the Government’s plans.
"We are looking forward to receiving further details following the Budget and to working closely with the Government to ensure that all parts of primary care can deliver on the Government’s priorities for the NHS.”
The joint statement has been signed by Shiv Pabary, chair, British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee; Janet Morrison, chief executive, Community Pharmacy England; Paul Carroll, chair, the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee; and Harjit Sandhu, chief executive, The National Association for Primary Care Audiology Providers.
