NPA encourages pharmacists to participate in NHS stocktake of integrated care

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) is encouraging pharmacists to participate in an NHS review of integrated primary care, ahead of Integrated Care Systems becoming statutory bodies in July.

Dr Claire Fuller, who is leading the nationwide ‘stocktake’ on how systems work with primary care and others to improve integration of patient care, has said her team will take part in a forthcoming NPA roundtable on community pharmacy integration.

The review will consider how best primary care, including community pharmacy, can be supported within the emergent Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) to meet the health needs of people in their local areas.

The ‘Fuller Stocktake’ is expected to report later in the Spring and provide recommendations to NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard.

Commenting on the review, Dr Claire Fuller said: “We want to focus on the practical next steps ICSs can take as they assume a statutory footing from July. We are looking at the whole of primary care including community pharmacies, so it’s great that the NPA has offered to help engage its members and the wider sector in this process.”

“We are eager to hear a wide range of views about how to seize this opportunity to ensure integrated primary care is at the heart of ICSs. We need your help to identify pockets of fantastic good practice already happening across the country.”

NPA chief exeutive Mark Lyonette said: “This is an opportunity to feed in, at a senior level of NHS management, experiences of community pharmacy integration at a local level.

“Local NHS systems need to be made aware of what is working and what is not working so well, so that expectations can be properly established from the outset, and good practice shared.”

To conduct the review, working groups have been established to consider six themes: Creating the right environment to work together, People or workforce, Access comprising both physical and non-physical, Working with communities, Governance and Data for improving population health.

The NPA is working to ensure community pharmacy’s representation each theme.

Pharmacists, pharmacy teams and “anyone with good ideas of knowledge of effective practice” have been invited to join the conversation.