Lord Fowler yesterday (January 28) argued that the government has “not used community pharmacies in this country to their full potential” and called for further reliance on the sector to improve public health.
“Should our policy not be to develop community pharmacies so that they make an even bigger contribution to public health in this country,” he asked at a House of Lords debate on community pharmacy closures.
“Would it not be better if pharmacists’ income came from that kind of effort, rather than from asking them to rely on the sale of cosmetics and other over-the-counter commercial products,” he added.
Read more: Wes Streeting: Pharmacies ‘capable of so much more’ than selling shampoo
Lord Fowler’s question echoed comments made by then-shadow health secretary Wes Streeting in 2023 that pharmacies are “capable of doing so much more” than selling shampoo.
During a visit to a Derbyshire pharmacy, Streeting said that “many people still think that pharmacies are a place to get medicines you’ve been prescribed and maybe pick up some shampoo”.
“That’s important work, but pharmacists are capable of doing so much more,” he said at the time, adding that pharmacists are “highly trained, highly skilled, professional people”.
“Optimising their portfolios”
Also speaking in yesterday’s debate, Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville highlighted that “the annual funding shortfall in England stands in excess of £100,000 per pharmacy” and asked whether the sector is “in a healthy state to support the Pharmacy First service”.
“Since 2017, there has been a net loss of 1,200 pharmacies in England, with 35% of closures occurring in 20% of the most deprived areas,” she added.
Read more: Kinnock: ‘Pharmacies are private businesses’ and closures ‘reflect many factors’
In her response, health minister Baroness Merron stressed that “the majority of recent closures were the result of large pharmacy chains optimising their portfolios”, adding that “community pharmacies are private businesses”.
And she noted that “some 98% of pharmacies are signed up to Pharmacy First”, adding that she is “glad about how it is developing”.
Read more: Long delayed funding contract negotiations finally open
Baroness Merron also referred to the commencement of the government’s “consultation with Community Pharmacy England (CPE) on funding arrangements”.
Yesterday’s announcement came after months of delay and continuing frustrations within the pharmacy sector – the negotiations were originally set to conclude in March.
Pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock said that he is “committed to working closely with CPE to agree a package of funding that is reflective of the important support that [pharmacies] provide to patients up and down the country”.