Community pharmacies have the skills and expertise to work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals to ‘deliver safe and effective care for patients’, said the General Pharmaceutical Council chair Gisela Abbam.
The government announced on Thursday that as part of the 10 Year Health Plan, GP practices and other NHS providers will be legally required to to make patient data available in a new single patient record.
“The commitment to introducing a single patient record that can be accessed in all settings, including community pharmacy, will also enable pharmacy services to work more closely and effectively with other health services to deliver safe and effective care for patients,” said Abbam.
The plan describes how pharmacy will ‘bring health to the heart of the high street’ through a new Neighbourhood Health Service.
This will see community pharmacies supporting people to manage complex medication regimens, as well as providing treatment for obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
They will also play a bigger role in prevention through screening services and vaccine delivery, including providing a catch-up service for the HPV vaccination.
Abbam insisted that community pharmacies are ‘critical to improving patient outcomes and meeting the needs of their local communities’.
“Pharmacy teams working in community pharmacies are already successfully expanding access to NHS care in the heart of communities, through initiatives like Pharmacy First,” she said.
“Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are also providing high-quality services in hospitals and in primary care that support people to get the best from their medicines and help to prevent ill-health.
“We would urge the UK Government to make sure that pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacies are closely involved in developing and delivering the plans around the Neighbourhood Health Service, so their expertise can be used to help achieve this significant shift in how healthcare is delivered,” said Abbam.
However, Abbam stressed that it was crucial that community pharmacies received the funding needed to provide the increased clinical services that the NHS envisions for it to do.
“This plan comes at a time when pharmacies, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are facing significant challenges.” She said.
“Pharmacy needs to be put on a resilient and stable footing for the future for this plan to succeed. We welcome the steps the Government has taken so far and we hope the ongoing support and investment needed to enable the pharmacy workforce to fulfil their increasing roles will be reflected in the upcoming workforce plan.”
