The Health and Social Care Committee has issued a report on pharmacy following the conclusion of their inquiry. The CCA’s Chief Executive, Malcolm Harrison gave oral evidence to the Committee in November 2023 and the CCA submitted written and supplementary evidence to the inquiry.
The Committee’s report calls for an overhaul of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework, an independent review of the medicines supply chain, and a fully-funded workforce plan, amongst other things. It also urges policymakers to commission pharmacies to provide all routine and seasonal immunisations, and to consider how Pharmacy First could be expanded in the future.
Neeraj Shah, Head of Public Affairs at the CCA said:
“We welcome the wide-ranging and robust recommendations made by the Committee which closely align to those of our Chief Executive, Malcolm Harrison, during his oral evidence1 and our written evidence.
The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) is not fit for purpose, as the report rightly states. With record levels of pharmacy closures2 funding is in urgent need of an uplift.
We support the call to develop an integrated and funded workforce plan including the provision of adequate support for Independent Prescribing (IP) graduates from 2026, especially given our concerns regarding the availability of Designated Prescribing Practitioners (DPPs)3.
Moreover, we welcome the call for an independent review of the medicines supply chain which is long overdue.
Choosing not to properly fund the community pharmacy network to dispense the NHS medicines that patients need is a false economy.
Community pharmacy has proven time and time again how it can deliver when it is supported with investment. The opportunities set out in the report such as the provision of all routine and seasonal immunisations for adults and children, and the expansion of Pharmacy First point to an exciting future for the sector.
We hope that the next Government will provide the investment the sector needs to realise this and to protect patients’ access to medicines”.
References
1 – CCA, Company Chemists’ Association CEO Malcolm Harrison appears before Health and Social Care Select Committee, November 2023
2 – CCA, Record loss of 432 pharmacies over the past year, April 2024
3 – CCA, CCA Statement: Urgent action required on Designated Prescribing Practitioners (DPPs), May 2024
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