APPG on Pharmacy - Inaugural meeting - 10th September 2024

On Tuesday 10th September, the APPG on Pharmacy was reconvened at its inaugural meeting in the new Parliament. We’re delighted to announce that Steve Race MP, Labour MP for Exeter, was elected as Chair of the group, with Sadik Al-Hassan MP, Labour MP for North Somerset, Lord Scriven and Baroness Cumberlege elected as Officers for the Group.

The APPG will work to raise awareness of the challenges facing community pharmacy and promote pharmacies’ current and potential contributions to the health of the nation.

The week in Parliament – w/c 13th May 2024

Welcome to the APPG on Pharmacy weekly Parliamentary update. Set out below is a summary of key parliamentary and policy developments in community pharmacy from the week just gone. Where relevant, there is also an overview of any upcoming activity in the week ahead.

Announcements

Government to make medicines dispensing more efficient (13th May 2024)

On Monday 13th May, the Government announced the expected rollout of a 'hub and spoke' model for pharmacy dispensing, aimed at making medicine access and care faster and more efficient.

This model will allow smaller independent pharmacies to benefit from centralised dispensing previously available only to larger chains, with the intention of promoting a more level playing field.

It is hoped that these changes will free up pharmacists’ time to provide more face-to-face patient care, and in turn enhance services like Pharmacy First and contraception consultations. Subject to Parliamentary approval, all pharmacies will have an option of 2 hub and spoke models from 2025. Further information on the announcement can be found here.

Key Parliamentary Activity

Oral questions

Prime Minister’s Questions (15th May 2024)

Derek Thomas (Conservative, St Ives) asked the Prime Minister if he will do everything he can to ensure that funds are directed toward community pharmacy, so that pharmacies can help the Government to deliver NHS services where and when they are most needed.

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak assured Mr Thomas that he cares deeply about the future of community pharmacies. In his response, he referred to the Pharmacy First initiative and how it will contribute to the Government’s plan to cut waiting lists and get people the care they need more quickly.

The full exchange can be found here.

Written Questions

Wes Streeting (Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care): To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of prescriptions that were written by pharmacists in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom (Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care): The National Health Service does not currently commission prescribing services from community pharmacists but pharmacists working in other NHS settings, including general practices, can prescribe on the NHS.

 The following table show the total number of items prescribed, the number of items prescribed by a pharmacist, and the percentage this equates to in terms of overall prescribing in England, in each of the last five years:

 Source: NHS Business Services Authority

The number of pharmacists that are independent prescribers is increasing. From 2026 all newly qualified pharmacists will be prescribers and we are upskilling the current workforce. NHS England are piloting services with varying models to evaluate how this could work in future clinical services in community pharmacy. In future, prescribing in community pharmacy has the potential to unlock more clinical services in community pharmacy, taking further pressure off general practice.

Conor McGinn (Independent, St Helens North): To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of pharmacy closures on the quality of primary care in St Helens constituency since 2019.

Andrea Leadsom (Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care): On 31 December 2023, there were 18 pharmacies in St Helens North constituency. Between 31 March 2019 and 31 December 2023, no pharmacies closed in St Helens North, and no new pharmacies opened. This year, there has been one closure in February 2024, as a result consolidation. Consolidation is a merger of two pharmacy businesses, and does not create a gap in the provision of pharmaceutical services.

Access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with 95% of the population of St Helens North living within a 20-minute walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80%. Residents of St Helens North can also access services from distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.

It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards (ICBs) have regard to those assessments when commissioning services, and where a pharmacy closure impacts the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.

APPG Pharmacy Roundtable Event - 19th September 2023

The All-Party Pharmacy Group held an event in Parliament on the 19th of September where we were joined by representatives from across the pharmacy sector who were able to share with the APPG their experience, what they believe the most important challenges are to overcome and what some possible solutions would be.

On the day, we were joined by representatives from 11 organisations from the pharmacy sector:

• Nick Kaye, Chair, National Pharmacy Association

• Tase Oputu, England Pharmacy Board Chair, Royal Pharmaceutical Society

• Malcolm Harrison, CEO, Company Chemists Association

• Leyla Hannbeck, CEO, Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies

• Ian Strachan,  Owner of Strachan’s Pharmacy Group, Board Member of AIMp

• Claire Ward, Director of Public Affairs, Pharmacists’ Defence Association

• Nathan Burley, President, Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists

• Gisela Abbam, Chair, General Pharmaceutical Council

• Shereen Nabhani, Co-chair of the Research Sub-committee, British Oncology Pharmacy Association, Associate Professor at Kingston University

• Janet Morrison, Chief Executive, Community Pharmacy England

• Elizabeth Ajayi, Executive Officer, British Pharmaceutical Students' Association

We were also joined by a number of parliamentarians who had the opportunity to discuss the challenges of the pharmacy sector with our invitees:

• Taiwo Owatemi MP

• Jackie Doyle-Price MP

• Derek Thomas MP

• Sir George Howarth MP

• Marco Longhi MP

• Peter Aldous MP

• Peter Bottomley MP

• Lord Haselhurst

• Baroness Golding

The members of the APPG would like to thank the industry representatives and the parliamentarians who joined on the day for their support of the APPG and the pharmacy industry. We hope that the session was informative and that it offered the opportunity for a more united pharmacy sector.

10 Things About Pharmacy Drop-In Event - 5 July 2023

The All-Party Pharmacy Group hosted a drop-in event in Parliament on the 5th of June where we shared with the MPs and Peers who joined us 10 things about pharmacy not everyone knows.

Representatives of the pharmacy industry attended the event, sharing their experience with parliamentarians and discussing the struggles and challenges of pharmacies. The members of the APPG Pharmacy and the pharmacy representatives would like to extend their gratitude to the MPs and Peers who have made time in their schedules to attend the event.

APPG Pharmacy Drop In Event - 29 March 2023

The All-Party Pharmacy Group held a drop-in event in Parliament on the 29th of March where MPs and Peers had the opportunity to hear from frontline pharmacists about the significant funding and workforce pressures they are currently facing.

The members of the APPG Pharmacy and those of the pharmacy community who joined us on the day to share their experience would like to thank the MPs and Peers who attended the event.

APPG Pharmacy Letter Hand In to No 10 Downing Street

On March 14, the All-Party Pharmacy Group, together with pharmacy representatives and supportive MPs, has delivered a letter signed by 50 parliamentarians to No 10 Downing Street. The letter calls for Mr Sunak and his Government to take urgent action to address the funding and workforce crisis, so that the potential of the pharmacy sector can be unleashed.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the 50 MPs and Peers that signed the letter and offered their support to local and community pharmacies.

APPG Pharmacy Manifesto Launch - 23 January 2023

The All-Party Pharmacy Group has hosted a drop-in event in Parliament on the 23rd of January to mark the publication of our new "The Future of Pharmacy Manifesto" report.

The members of the APPG Pharmacy and those of the pharmacy community who joined us on the day would like to extend their gratitude to the 27 MPs who have made time in their schedules to attend the launch. On the day, we had many interesting discussions about the role pharmacies have in our local communities and how we can better empower them to do even more. We hope this is the first step towards the future of pharmacy we envisioned in our report and that we can continue to rely on your support on the road ahead.

All-Party Pharmacy Group publishes new “The Future of Pharmacy Manifesto” report - 23 January 2023

A new report (published on 23 January 2023) by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy calls for “urgent action” to deliver on the potential of pharmacy teams and relieve significant funding and workforce pressures.

The report highlights the need for a new “strategic vision” for pharmacy and highlights opportunities for the pharmacy network to be empowered to deliver even more for patients. However, the manifesto also underlines the very real risk that this opportunity may be lost if significant and ongoing pressures are not addressed.

The recommendations are based on written and oral evidence gathered from frontline pharmacists, GPs, professional bodies and healthcare experts.  

To harness the potential of pharmacy, the report recommendations that:

• The Government must take urgent action to relieve the funding pressures on the community pharmacy sector in the short term and review the long term funding model for pharmacy

• The Government must harness the power of pharmacy to help the NHS deal with the COVID-19 backlog and the UK’s growing healthcare challenges

• Future commissioning and funding must recognise that community pharmacy is the front door to the NHS for many patients

• The DHSC and NHS England must urgently re-evaluate the current and long-term workforce needs of the entire health and social care system, including pharmacy

• The Government should build on current commitments to provide funded independent prescriber training to ensure all existing pharmacists can train as independent prescribers if they so choose

• For this ambitious new vision to be realised, community pharmacy must be placed at the heart of decision-making and policy development

Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy, Taiwo Owatemi MP said:

“There is a tremendous opportunity for ministers to empower local pharmacies and pharmacy teams to help even more patients and use their skills to support efforts to clear NHS backlogs. But right now pharmacies are being squeezed by a combination of funding and workforce pressures.  People are often shocked to learn how many local pharmacies are lost each year due to financial pressure. If ever there was a time to properly fund and support our pharmacies it is now.”

All-Party Pharmacy Group Briefing Session: How Local Pharmacies Can Help

The All-Party Pharmacy Group heard from frontline pharmacists and industry representatives how local pharmacies can play a bigger role in primary care, help address the NHS backlogs and tackle winter pressures. 

The panel consisted of:

• Janet Morrison OBE, Chief Executive of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee

• Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of The Company Chemists’ Association

• Thorrun Govind, Chair of the Royal Pharmacy Society’s (RPS) English Pharmacy Board

• Sanjeev Panesar, National Pharmacy Association Board Member, and Pharmacist Superintendent and Owner of the Pan Pharmacy Group

• Sandeep Dhami, Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies member and Superintendent at MW Phillips Chemist

At the session, which took place in Westminster on Wednesday 1st November, 18 Parliamentarians were told about the myriad of ways pharmacies contribute to the health of the nation. Examples included providing informal advice consultations with no specific funding attached them, administering large scale vaccine programmes such as COVID and flu, providing lifestyle improvement services such as stop smoking schemes, and improving medicine optimisation. 

However, the panel of experts also highlighted that pharmacists are ‘running out of fuel’ with the growing challenges such as flat funding, workforce shortages and the cost-of-living crisis impacting pharmacies’ ability to deliver vital services.

At a time when the NHS is facing overwhelming pressures, Parliamentarians were told that government should be looking to protect pharmacies and working to unleash the full potential of an existing network of medically trained professionals at the heart of communities.

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 The APPG also held its Annual General Meeting, which saw the election of a new committee including Taiwo Owatemi, Labour MP for Coventry North West, as the new Chair. Former Chair Jackie Doyle-Price MP had stood down after being appointed Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy in September 2022. 

We are therefore pleased to announce the election of;

• Chair: Taiwo Owatemi, Labour MP for Coventry North West.

• Vice-Chair: Lord Clement-Jones

• Vice-Chair: Baroness Meacher

• Vice-Chair: Sir George Howarth, Labour MP for Knowsley

• Vice-Chair: Derek Thomas, Conservative MP for St Ives

• Vice-Chair: Peter Dowd, Labour MP for Bootle

• Officer: Elliot Colburn, Conservative MP for Carshalton and Wallington

Chair of the All-Party Pharmacy Group, Taiwo Owatemi MP said: “Delighted to be the Chair of the All-Party Pharmacy Group. As an NHS cancer pharmacist, I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues across Parliament to promote the vital role that pharmacies and pharmacists play in delivering healthcare in Britain.”

Vice-Chair of the All-Party Pharmacy Group, Derek Thomas MP said: “Pharmacies have the potential to play a much bigger part in primary health care, and NHS commissioning must make full use of this important local resource. I am proud to be the new Vice-Chair of the All-Party Pharmcy Group campaigning for the NHS to harness the power of community pharmacy.”

All-Party Pharmacy Group | New Vice-Chairs

The All-Party Pharmacy Group is delighted to announce the election of new Vice-Chairs of the APPG. The new Vice-Chairs are as following:

• Lord Clement-Jones

• Baroness Meacher

• Sir George Howarth, Labour MP for Knowsley

• Derek Thomas, Conservative MP for St Ives

• Peter Dowd, Labour MP for Bootle

Vice-Chair of the All-Party Pharmacy Group, Derek Thomas MP said: “Pharmacies have the potential to play a much bigger part in primary health care, and NHS commissioning must make full use of this important local resource. I am proud to be the new Vice-Chair of the All-Party Pharmcy Group campaigning for the NHS to harness the power of community pharmacy.”