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What might Brexit mean for pharmacy?

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What might Brexit mean for pharmacy?

Despite recent political changes, community pharmacy could still offer government a neat solution to issues in healthcare, argues community pharmacist Noel Wicks

I don’t think I’m alone in being a little shocked at the result of the Brexit vote. Like many, I hadn’t really contemplated the reality of a Leave vote simply because it hadn’t registered as a realistic outcome. This may have been because the general feeling here in Scotland was one of wanting to remain in Europe, as was reflected in the voting statistics.

Quite a few people have asked me why Scotland voted the way it did. I don’t think there’s any clear reason why it was so different from elsewhere in the UK. Could it be perhaps that we feel a bit removed from some of the issues that seemed to drive so much of the pre-referendum debate? I’m thinking of things such as immigration and the NHS.

While I wouldn’t suggest these aren’t relevant in Scotland, I don’t think they are felt quite so keenly as they are south of the border. Perhaps it was because ‘our Nicola’ was in the vanguard of the Remain campaign and, to many, acquitted herself admirably during the televised debates. Whatever the reason, it seems Scotland may well reconsider its role within the UK, although I do think it needs to be realistic about what the reality of a solo position in Europe might look like.

Now that we have decided to leave Europe and the UK political parties are starting to pull themselves into some sort of order, what will the future look like for pharmacy? Well, it’s certainly a new era with new people at the top so we might expect some changes long-term. But what about the more immediate issues faced by pharmacy?

The funding cuts will be top of most people’s minds and rightly so. It’s hard to see how such things might be altered at this late stage. The Machiavellian way in which they have been progressed so far makes me suspect that we have little chance of winning this particular battle. However, the war to have community pharmacy’s role fully recognised and utilised by the DH is perhaps a different matter.

If this is indeed a war, then we may need to brace ourselves for tough times as we continue the fight. If we do move into another recession, then I find it hard to envisage pharmacy’s lot becoming a much happier one. The government would need to tighten belts even further as a result and this might mean further, widespread, spending reviews.

However, with the backdrop of the current situation with GP numbers and A&E burden I wonder if this could possibly create a set of unique conditions? A bit like the idea of coal under millions of tons of pressure, the right conditions can create an amazing metamorphosis. Community pharmacy still offers a turnkey solution to an awful lot of NHS problems and it feels as if that message is finally starting to penetrate with the powers that be.

So who knows, perhaps the government will suddenly see community pharmacy for the ‘diamond in the rough’ that we actually are.

If we did move into another recession, then I find it hard to envisage pharmacy’s lot becoming a happier one

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