The NPA was at the heart of the conversation throughout the event, with our team, Board members and invited guests contributing across sessions covering independent prescribing, private services, technology, workforce, weight management, women in pharmacy, NHS reform and international models of care.
Our stand was busy throughout both days, while our Sunday evening NPA members’ reception provided an opportunity to bring members and colleagues from across the sector together away from the conference floor.
Most importantly, the conference gave us another opportunity to listen directly to pharmacy owners and teams about the challenges they are facing today and the opportunities they see for the future.
A sector looking to the future
Despite the very real pressures facing community pharmacy, there was a noticeable sense of optimism about where the sector can go next.
Technology and automation attracted significant interest across the exhibition hall, with pharmacy teams actively exploring how new systems could create capacity, improve efficiency and support new models of care.
That interest was mirrored in conversations about Independent Prescribing and the continued expansion of clinical services.
NPA Chair Olivier Picard’s session on making independent prescribing profitable drew a packed audience. Using the real economics of one of his own pharmacies, Olivier demonstrated how private services, supported by his experience as an independent prescriber, can help turn an otherwise loss-making proposition into a sustainable model.
It was an important reminder that expanding the clinical role of pharmacy is not simply about introducing new services. Those services must also work commercially if pharmacies are going to be able to deliver them sustainably.
Supporting pharmacies to make the transition
Across the two days, members also spoke to the NPA team about the practical support they need as pharmacy continues to evolve.
There was a warm reception for our new Independent Prescribing resources and SOP Management service – both available to NPA members and designed to help pharmacies prepare for a more clinical and digitally enabled future.
Our message throughout the conference was simple: wherever a pharmacy is on that journey, the NPA is there to support them every step of the way.
That means combining practical business and professional support with the strong representation needed to ensure that the policy and funding environment allows pharmacies to succeed.
Learning from pharmacy around the world
One of the highlights of the first day was welcoming colleagues from the World Pharmacy Council to Birmingham.
Professor Trent Twomey, President of the World Pharmacy Council and National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, and Clare Fitzell, Secretary General of the Irish Pharmacy Union, joined the NPA to explore what the UK can learn from different models of community pharmacy around the world.
Their contributions demonstrated the value of looking beyond our own system. Other countries are already approaching pharmacy services, funding and integration in different ways, and sharing those experiences gives us an opportunity to identify ideas that could help shape reform here in the UK.
As proud members of the World Pharmacy Council, the NPA will continue to bring international evidence and experience into our conversations with policymakers.
The session also provided a special moment as NPA Board member and former Chair Nick Kaye was awarded a Fellowship of the World Pharmacy Council, recognising his contribution to community pharmacy.
Prescribing is coming – but the foundations need to be right
Independent prescribing was one of the dominant themes across the Pharmacy Show.
There is widespread recognition that prescribing represents a significant opportunity for community pharmacy and for patients, but enthusiasm was accompanied by important questions about how the new model will work in practice.
Funding needs to properly reflect the cost of delivering services, while the necessary IT and digital infrastructure must allow pharmacies to integrate effectively with the wider NHS.
The direction of travel is exciting. But if prescribing is to fulfil its potential, pharmacies need a model that is clinically effective and financially sustainable.
An encouraging conversation about NHS reform
On day two, Ali Sparke, Director of Community Pharmacy, Dentistry and Optometry at NHS England, offered an encouraging assessment of the direction of community pharmacy.
He highlighted the success of the pharmacy contraception service, which has delivered nearly 2.3 million consultations since its launch, and indicated that the final elements needed for the new Pharmacy First prescribing service would soon be in place.
Perhaps most significantly, he signalled an openness to a much wider conversation about contractual reform, saying that “nothing is off the table”.
That willingness to consider reform is welcome.
The NPA has long argued for a system that provides better and more reliable medicines supply for patients, greater transparency and predictability for pharmacy businesses, and a sustainable community pharmacy network.
Reform of the Pharmacy Access Scheme, which supports pharmacies serving harder-to-reach communities, was also highlighted as part of the changing landscape.
Pharmacy can help deliver the Government's priorities
NPA Chief Executive Henry Gregg also used the Show to highlight the opportunity for community pharmacy to support some of the Government’s wider priorities.
From maternity and women’s health to social care and prevention, community pharmacy has the reach, expertise and accessibility to make a much greater contribution.
The challenge now is ensuring that pharmacy is built into those plans from the outset rather than treated as an afterthought.
With the right investment and commissioning, community pharmacies can deliver more care closer to home, support patients earlier and help relieve pressure elsewhere in the health service.
Listening to members
Alongside the conference programme, one of the most valuable parts of the Pharmacy Show was simply having the opportunity to speak directly with members.
Our stand brought together colleagues from across the NPA, giving pharmacy teams the chance to discuss everything from Independent Prescribing and SOP management to training, insurance, business support and the NPA’s campaigning and advocacy work.
That continued into our members’ reception on Sunday evening, bringing members, NPA colleagues and partners together to connect and share experiences.
Those conversations matter. They help us understand not only where members need support today, but where the NPA needs to focus next.
What comes next?
We left Birmingham encouraged by the ambition we saw across the sector.
Community pharmacy is clearly changing. Independent prescribing, technology, automation, private services and new models of NHS care all offer significant opportunities.
But ambition alone will not deliver a sustainable future.
There remains a substantial gap between what it costs to provide NHS pharmaceutical services and the funding available to deliver them. New clinical services must be properly funded. Digital infrastructure must work. And contractual reform must provide pharmacies with greater certainty and sustainability.
The Pharmacy Show demonstrated a sector ready to embrace its future.
Our job at the NPA is to help our members get there – by providing the practical tools and support they need to evolve their businesses, while continuing to make the case for the funding and reform community pharmacy needs to thrive.
We’re with you, every step of the way.
