Following publication of the Department for Health and Social Care’s consultation on supervision, our Chief Executive Malcolm Harrison said:
“We welcome the long-awaited consultation on Supervision. The proposed changes provide the basis for the greatest evolution in pharmacy practice for 70 years.
The proposals will free up pharmacists to spend more time with patients and deliver more NHS services. Once implemented, patients will no longer have to wait for a pharmacist to be present to receive prescribed medicines that have already been bagged up, checked and are ready to go.
However, these changes alone will not halt the alarming rise in pharmacy closures. Whilst the Government has recently announced funding for pharmacies to deliver new urgent care services, historic underfunding1 of the sector has led to a net loss of over 1,000+2 pharmacies since 2015. Failing to address the underlying inadequacies of the funding for medicines supply will lead to more medicines shortages and longer waiting times in the pharmacies that remain. We need a funding model that will maintain the national network of pharmacies, for the sake of patients and the NHS”.
References:
1 – CCA, Funding gap in England equates to more than £67,000 per pharmacy, January 2023
2 – CCA, The impact of pharmacy closures on health inequalities: one year on, November 2023