More than 30 MPs from across all political parties attended the Community Pharmacy England’s winter pressures event
Community pharmacy representatives and MPs from across all political parties discussed the impact of winter pressures on pharmacies in England during a parliamentary drop-in event held on Tuesday (5 December).
As many as 34 MPs attended the event, including Bradford South MP Judith Cummins, who hosted the event.
Members of the Community Pharmacy England (CPE) Policy Team and LPC leaders briefed the politicians about the current winter pressures that all NHS community pharmacies are grappling with, and asked them to help get more support.
CPE Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: “Community pharmacies play an active role to support their patients throughout the winter period, but the sector needs fair and proper funding to enable its vital services to be delivered in the long term. This event came at a key moment for the sector as we work towards implementing the Pharmacy First service and negotiations begin for the 2024/25 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF).
“In this environment, we were particularly keen to reiterate to MPs the enormous pressures that community pharmacies are currently under and the crippling effect that this is continuing to have on pharmacy businesses of all shapes and sizes.”
The MPs were also invited to co-sign a letter calling the pharmacy minister for urgent consideration of three measures, which include creating a fair and fit for purpose core funding model, effective implementation of the Pharmacy First service, further development of other clinical service areas such as vaccinations, women’s health and long-term conditions management.
Since then, a number of MPs have also posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) to affirm their support for community pharmacy.
CPE’s winter pressures event was supported by other national community pharmacy representative bodies, including the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), as well as LPC representatives.
