Bhayani’s Battlebus

What a week of campaigning! It started with the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, pledging to give pharmacies a greater role in the NHS by expanding Pharmacy First. We cautiously welcomed this news of a greater role for pharmacies, however via our political contacts, we have made it clear to the PM (and other party leaders) that community pharmacies are chronically underfunded and hundreds have closed so far, so we need urgent investment now to fill the £1.3bn funding black hole if we are to stay open and provide more services

Our Chief Executive, Paul Rees, was widely quoted in the media insisting that government needed “to fund pharmacies adequately, otherwise the pharmacy network that forms the backbone of the NHS will be irreparably damaged.” Rest assured, we are continuing pushing the pharmacy funding crisis up the election agenda!

Our #SaveOurPharmacies campaign is gaining momentum! We have announced our ‘day of action’ on the 20^th June! We will be briefing the main political parties and supporting our fantastic members to get support for the day from their local prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs).

Also, you may have seen this week the Conservative and Labour leaders go head-to-head in the first live TV debate. Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer debated the NHS hospital waiting lists and some interesting questions were raised. Of course, we’re working hard to ensure all parties know that real positive investment in pharmacy will help!

And finally, watch out for next week manifesto launches!