The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) welcomes the clear acknowledgement of community pharmacy’s public health role in the Healthy Lives Healthy People white paper published today. However, the association warns that people in deprived circumstances could get left behind if new commissioning arrangements fail.
The Department of Health says in the document that “community pharmacies are a valuable and trusted public health resource”, drawing on the potential of “millions of contacts with the public each day” to improve wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer will work closely with the public health community to draw out this potential.
NPA chairman, Ian Facer said:
“We are pleased that the white paper strongly endorses an expanding role for community pharmacy, recognising the sector’s uniquely accessible position within the health service and at the heart of communities. There is considerable public health benefit to be gained by extending the range and reach of pharmacy-based health improvement services. The Healthy Living Pharmacies cited in the white paper show what can be achieved if the energy of pharmacists and pharmacy teams is backed by the NHS.
“The white paper acknowledges that public health services need to be properly resourced. Increased public investment in community pharmacy would mark a shift to more equitable health provision by bringing a wider range of NHS services into the heart of neighbourhoods where they are within easy reach of the people who need them most. 96% of the population - even those in the most deprived areas – can get to a pharmacy within 20 minutes by walking or using public transport.
“We hope that new commissioning arrangements will not distract from the monumental challenges ahead, in particular efforts to bridge the stubborn health inequalities gap. There must be specific provision in the new commissioning arrangements to support the non-registered population. The emerging system must be capable of maintaining equity so that people who need care most are not left behind. Community pharmacists see many people who are not registered with GPs – and we need to know that this group will be looked after.
“GP consortia will be only be ‘encouraged’ to work with a diverse range of clinicians to improve the health of the local population. We have to question whether encouragement alone will be enough. GP commissioning can only make best use of NHS resources and be truly transformative if it is characterised by genuine accountability and partnership with all frontline providers.
“We welcome the investment in a unified public health service. A unified, central organisation should have the capacity to spread health improvement services that are of proven benefit. Around the country pharmacies are offering NHS smoking cessation, weight management, sexual health and cardiovascular risk assessment services. But commissioning of these services is far from universal. The commissioning challenge is to take the best of what is happening in some places to every place, so that all communities can benefit.”
Last week, the NPA distributed its new report Community Pharmacy Delivering Public Health on the Frontline to Ministers. The report records a meeting organised by the National Pharmacy Association in the autumn, which included pharmacy representatives, public health experts and senior civil servants. Pharmacy services featured in the report include:
- Harm reduction services (including substance misuse, syringe exchange programmes and alcohol services)
- Sexual health services (including the supply of emergency hormonal contraception and chlamydia testing and treating services)
- Pharmacy-based screening services (including for vascular risks and cancers)
- Vaccination programmes delivered by community pharmacy (including seasonal and pandemic influenza and Hepatitis B)
- Support for behavioural change (including Health Trainers in community pharmacy, stop smoking and weight management services)
