The Conservative Party Manifesto which commits to: “Expand Pharmacy First, including for menopause support, contraception and treatment for chest infections, freeing up 20 million GP appointments a year”.
Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the CCA said:
“We are delighted to see that the Conservative Party Manifesto agrees with our calls to expand Pharmacy First.
This policy pledge is a no-brainer, and makes sense for patients, pharmacies and general practice.
However, any expansion of Pharmacy First must be fully funded. The community pharmacy sector cannot be expected to continue to subsidise the NHS.
Core funding for pharmacies has experienced a real-terms cut in funding of 30% since 2015, and nearly 1,200 pharmacies have permanently closed. The next Government must close the deficit in funding to protect patients’ access to the community pharmacy network.
Moreover, we need the next Government to deliver on the NHS long-term workforce plan and ensure we have more community pharmacies to meet the ever-rising workload and patient demand pharmacies are facing”.