New health minister Karin Smyth today (July 23) indicated that pharmacies will have a “central” role in the government’s plan to alleviate pressures on hospitals.
During oral questions in the House of Commons today, Labour MP for Stratford and Bow Uma Kumaran said that the A&E departments of the hospitals in her constituency “had the second highest volume of any trust in England and the highest in London” in May.
“Overcrowding and capacity constraints mean staff at these hospitals are having to treat some patients in corridors rather than on wards – this is the broken NHS that we have inherited from the Conservatives,” she added.
Read more: Lib Dem MP demands ‘urgent’ debate on ‘outdated’ pharmacy contract
She asked Smyth to ask the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) “to look at capacity issues at these hospitals and how community pharmacist prescribing services may be used to alleviate some of the pressures”.
Smyth, who was revealed as the new medicines minister earlier this month, said that the MP made “an excellent point about pharmacies”, adding that they will have a “central” role “in our future system”.
No other questions regarding pharmacy were taken by the health ministers, despite Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham Munira Wilson last week revealing plans to pose questions on community pharmacy closures and funding.
Prescribing plans
In the run-up to this month’s general election, the Labour Party revealed plans to launch a “community pharmacist prescribing service”.
At the time, it vowed to grant "more pharmacists independent prescribing rights where clinically appropriate" to ease "pressure" on GP surgeries.
The party said that it would improve patients' "access to services and treatment through new routes" via the service.
Read more: UPDATED: Labour promises 'community pharmacist prescribing service'
Earlier this month, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) said that it would seek “early meetings” with new government ministers but that negotiations on a new pharmacy funding deal could be “weeks” away.
At the time, the negotiator said that it was a “helpful start” hear Labour MP Wes Streeting – who was later confirmed as the new health secretary - “recognising the enormous funding pressures that community pharmacies face and the many closures this has led to” in the run-up to the election.
