Commenting on the appointment of the Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP as Pharmacy Minister, the CCA’s Chief Executive Malcolm Harrison said:
“We welcome the appointment of the Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP as new Pharmacy Minister. Unfortunately, the Minister will find that the community pharmacy network remains in a fragile state.
The current contractual framework is not fit for purpose and although the NHS long-term workforce plan recognises the need for more pharmacists and to carefully manage ARRS expansion, it fails to address the current workforce challenges.
We need the Minister to fix the foundations. The Common Conditions Service is a start, but it needs to be underpinned by recurring funding. If patients are to truly benefit the service must be expanded at pace, freeing up further GP appointments and building capacity and resilience in primary care”.