Commenting on the Conservative Party’s pledge to expand the Pharmacy First and contraception services, Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the CCA said: “We are delighted that the Conservatives agree with our calls for expanding Pharmacy First. Expanding the scale and scope of the service is a no-brainer that will free up GP capacity and boost patient access to primary care.
However, core funding for community pharmacy has been cut by 30% in real-terms since 20151 and since then almost 1,200 pharmacies have closed3.
The foundations upon which the community pharmacy sector, and the Pharmacy First service, sit urgently need fixing. Driving more and more workload through pharmacies only makes sense if historic underfunding of the sector is rectified”.
References:
1 – CPE, Information for Politicians
2 – CCA, Record loss of 432 pharmacies over the past year, April 2024