Government promises to 'reform' Scottish pharmacies by end of 2026
Scottish community pharmacies are set to offer Pharmacy First consultations for a “wider range of health conditions” as part of primary care reforms, C+D has learned.
The Scottish government will “reform primary care” by the end of 2026, Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) John Swinney announced earlier this month (September 4).
While presenting the 2024 programme for government to Scottish parliament, the Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP for Perthshire North said that government must “ensure that our NHS has the resources that it needs, both for today and for years to come”.
“We will reform primary care, increasing capacity and access to general practice, community pharmacy, dental and community eyecare services by the end of 2026,” Swinney added.
The Scottish government told C+D that it will “continue to enhance [its] Pharmacy First programme so that a wider range of health conditions are covered”.
“This will alleviate pressures on the GPs and A&E services and further transfer the care of common clinical conditions to community pharmacy for everyday self-limiting conditions,” it added.
“We will also consider how this aligns with the wider educational reforms that will see all newly registered pharmacists prescriber-ready from 2026,” it said.
Funding flubs?
But in July, Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) warned the sector of “stretched” government finances as contract negotiations continued.
At the time, Scotland’s community pharmacy negotiator said it was “prepared to walk away and illustrate the consequences of not being able to reach an agreement”.
It acknowledged that the ongoing contract delays are “not helpful” for contractors facing rising costs and needing “certainty to support investment in their businesses”.
Meanwhile last month, Glasgow City Health and Social Partnership (HSPC) announced that the city would launch the first UK space where “people can consume drugs, obtained elsewhere, in the presence of trained health and social care professionals”.
But C+D exclusively revealed that “there is no role identified for pharmacists in the safe drug consumption facility”.
