New Pharmacy Minister appointed

Seema Kennedy, the MP for South Ribble in Lancashire, has been appointed minister with responsibility for pharmacy, replacing Steve Brine.

As Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, she will lead on primary care, prevention and early intervention, health improvement, sexual health, the public health system and NHS litigation.

The NPA developed a positive relationship with former Pharmacy Minister, Steve Brine, who resigned last month.  In the same vein, we want to work in partnership with his successor, to make things better for pharmacists, patients and the NHS.

Seema Kennedy’s portfolio covers primary care and public health, and we aim to help her understand community pharmacy’s significance across this wide agenda.

Meanwhile, we continue to discuss pharmacy strategy with senior officials and with the Health Secretary who has agreed to attend the NPA conference in June.

At the same time, our work to help independent pharmacies engage with the NHS at local level will intensify, as we recognise the growing importance of Primary Care Networks in England’s healthcare commissioning infrastructure.

Find out more about the Ministerial role here.