Consultations
The NPA is strongly committed to consulting its members and key stakeholders on important issues that matter and seeking opinions and link in the following consultations please:
| Open consultations that we are currently seeking your opinion on : |
Great Britain:
GPHC: Consultation on remote hearings
UK wide:
DHSC: Healthcare regulation: Deciding when statutory regulation is appropriate
Home Office: Amendments to the Poisons Act 1972
Protocol Committee inquiry into the Windsor Framework, House of Lords
England:
No open consultations at present
Scotland:
Patient Safety Commission
Wales:
No open consultations at present
Northern Ireland:
No open consultations at present
Please share your views with our NPA Policy team on any of the above consultations:
| Consultations that we have responded to : |
UK Wide:
December 2021: MHRA- Consultation on original pack dispensing and supply of medicines containing sodium valproate
September 2021: DHSC- Expanding access to Naloxone
June 2022: NPA response to DHSC consultation on hub and spoke dispensing
England:
January 2022: NICE- Consultation on the Guideline- Vaccine uptake in the general population
Scotland:
NPA responds to Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee Inquiry into Alternate Pathways into Primary Care Feb 2022
Read More
The NPA on behalf of Scottish members responded to the Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee Inquiry into Alternate Pathways into Primary Care (Feb 2022)
We highlighted:
- our members were the front line of the battle against coronavirus since day one, staying open and serving patients
- additional capacity for existing pharmacy services, and expansion of pharmacy Public Health Services is possible
- community pharmacy owners are experiencing significant challenge and rising costs in relation to recruitment and retention of a fully skilled team, being adversely impacted by the policy of local NHS Boards employing pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to support patients from GP practices.
- general awareness of Pharmacy First is higher with GP practice staff, however greater understanding of the scope of the service with GP practice teams could support ease of patient access to care
We explained:
- pharmacists have strong face to face relationships with patients and trusted expertise in medicines
- the success of Pharmacy First and the potential of Pharmacy First Plus
- pharmacy is ideally placed to explore emerging opportunities from genomics to enhance pharmaceutical care, or to enhance the community pharmacy Public Health Service to support women’s health or other new community pharmacy public health services such as weight management services.
- formal referral from community pharmacy to other NHS care access points would support pharmacies easing current pressures on GPs.
We called for:
- continued investment from Scottish Government in improving pharmacy systems and facilitating development of community pharmacy teams including Pharmacists, PIPs, Pharmacy Technicians and support staff
- service development to be considered for pharmacy team workforce capacity and skills, patient safety factors and professional indemnity risk
- a local impact assessment be carried out prior to any recruitment into primary or secondary pharmaceutical care sites
- pharmacists direct access to patient medical records
- Social prescribing by community pharmacists to highlight services available to patients that could support health outcomes such as referral to Allied Health professionals.
Read the NPA Response to Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee Inquiry into Alternate Pathways into Primary Care (Feb 2022)
Scottish Parliament Inquiry into Health Inequalities
Read More Here
Northern Ireland
January 2022: Consultation on Proposals for Legislative Changes to Human Medicines Regulations 2012
Wales
January 2022: Welsh Parliament: Impact of the waiting times backlog on patients
| Outcomes that have been published : |
The views of NPA members was heard by senior government officials and helped influence some of their key decisions following a consultative period.
Examples include but not limited to:
NICE Community pharmacy guideline (NG102)
The NPA positively influenced NICE guidance on community pharmacy role in health and well-being.
This guideline covers how community pharmacies can help maintain and improve people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing, including people with a long-term condition. The NPA emphasised the key role of the community pharmacy within the local community, and the guideline now adds that a “collaborative approach from individual pharmacies and their representatives, local authorities and other commissioners” is essential.
Parliamentary inquiry to the Impact of Brexit on medicines supply
In its response the NPA called for community pharmacies to be allowed to use their clinical skills and judgement in instances of medicine shortages. Provision has now been made through the Department of Health and Social Care for “serious shortage protocols” to be enabled in cases of serious shortages of medicines.
