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A report published today by the All-Party Pharmacy Group (APPG) calls on Labour to modernise the community pharmacy contract, provide the sector with long-term funding, expand Pharmacy First and implement other recommendations to secure pharmacies’ future.

The report, which makes several recommendations and is informed by the APPG’s 2022 inquiry into the future of the pharmacy sector post-Covid pandemic, warns community pharmacy “cannot thrive while operating with a £2 billion annual shortfall”.

An independent economic review of the cost of providing NHS pharmaceutical services in England, commissioned by NHS England, put that figure at £2.6 billion.

The report said: “A long-term, inflation and volume-linked funding uplift is essential to sustain services and support innovation. The existing ring-fenced and capped contractual model should be reformed into a flexible framework that incentivises quality, innovation, access, and system-wide collaboration.”

The APPG also called for the expansion of Pharmacy First “into a national, walk-in clinical service” which should cover “a broader range of conditions, walk-in access and independent prescribing rights where appropriate”.

The service currently covers seven conditions but GPs have called for Pharmacy First funding to be reallocated to general practice.

“National commissioning and testing and investigations into primary care pathways will be key to success,” the APPG report said, calling for investment to “further align pharmacy commissioning with wider NHS objectives”.

Invest in prescribing through funded training

The report urged the Government to invest in prescribing through funded training, protected learning time and expanded supervisory capacity.

“In parallel, the wider pharmacy team must be upskilled and supported to manage clinical pressures, with action taken to address workforce burnout, recruitment barriers and professional development needs, providing a long-term plan for professions,” it said.

The APPG called on Labour to implement its recommendations on medicines supply, including giving pharmacists the power to make safe substitutions to reduce the need for serious shortage protocols through legislative change.

Incorporate GP Connect into all of pharmacy practice

Other recommendations include incorporating GP Connect “into all of pharmacy practice to ensure fully joined-up care” and guaranteeing that community pharmacy is represented “at every level of integrated care systems”.

A motion calling for a ballot on "non-compliance with GP Connect" was delivered to the LMC conference this month over GPs’ concerns about “data protection, inappropriate third-party access and erosion of patient confidentiality”.

The final APPG recommendation called for pharmacies to be better integrated into NHS systems including the NHS app and given improved access to patient records. However, the health minister Stephen Kinnock has said there are no plans to provide Pharmacy First appointments via the NHS app.

“Such integration will support more proactive and efficient care and help alleviate pressure on general practice and the wider healthcare system,” the report said, insisting community pharmacy can “enhance the management of long-term conditions” but warning pharmacists’ “depth of clinical knowledge is not being fully utilised”.