Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund seek views on proposed ‘Future of community pharmacy’ vision

Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund are seeking feedback from community pharmacy on their proposals for the future of community pharmacy and they are seeking feedback from community pharmacy stakeholders.

The online survey is the latest opportunity for pharmacy owners, LPCs and others in the sector to engage with the project to develop a Vision for Community Pharmacy.

Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund want to hear their views on their proposals, ahead of the publication of the final report later this year. The vision is critically important, as it will be used to develop the future strategy for the sector and lay the groundwork for the next Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) negotiations.

The survey is asking for thoughts on key aspects of the vision and its recommendations. The vision has been developed by Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund following an extensive programme of research, interviews and meetings of the vision Steering Group, Advisory Panel, and Working Groups, all of which have contractors, LPCs and other representatives of the sector at their heart.

The vision project team are looking forward to hearing views from across the sector on their proposals and what will need to happen to make them a reality.

The deadline for responses is 11.59pm on Monday (14 August).

In addition to the survey, the Community Pharmacy England is hosting an online engagement event with Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund on Tuesday (25 July) at 7pm. This will allow any pharmacy owners to hear more from the authors of the report and to discuss their proposals.

This important project was commissioned by Community Pharmacy England to work towards a better future, laying the ground for the next Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) negotiations which will be critical for the future of all community pharmacies.

Commenting on the launch of the latest vision engagement exercise, Community Pharmacy England Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: “As community pharmacy owners and their teams work tirelessly in the face of a relentless workload and financial pressures, a chink of light in the shape of a £645m investment in service development has appeared. We need to build on that momentum as we edge ever closer to the end of the five-year CPCF.

“Having commissioned Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund to develop a Vision for Community Pharmacy last year, we are eager to see what the sector makes of their proposals and implementation ideas. We need pharmacy owners and LPCs to check the recommendations and tell the project team what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t.

“This vision is critical for the future direction of the sector, so it’s apt that we are launching this final call for feedback at such an important time for healthcare. What we need now is views from the full breadth of community pharmacy so Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund can finalise their recommendations, and we can take this forward with the backing of the whole sector. Only you can help make that vision a reality.”