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 The next decade offers an “unprecedented opportunity to transform the community pharmacy sector into a cornerstone of the government’s proposed Neighbourhood Health Service, delivering integrated, accessible, and preventative care to communities across England”, says a new report commissioned by Community Pharmacy England.

The report - A Prescription for Success – the role of community pharmacy in delivering the 10 year plan for health - identifies issues which will need to be addressed in order to maximise the impact that community pharmacy can make.

Policymakers, commissioners, and system leaders must work with community pharmacy leaders, the report says, to:

• Engage community pharmacy in service transformation and ensure pharmacists are embedded in strategic planning and leadership at both national and local levels, with resourced roles in system development and transformation
• Invest in digital and physical infrastructure, and include community pharmacy in IT and estates strategies, enabling full participation in digital health initiatives and ensuring premises are fit for clinical service delivery
• Strengthen commissioning capacity by building capability within DHSC, NHS England, and ICBs to commission community pharmacy services effectively
• Integrate pharmacy workforce planning into the NHS workforce strategy to support career development, protect learning time, and offer leadership pathways for pharmacists and technicians
• Reform the community pharmacy contract to develop a sustainable funding and operational model that reflects the expanded clinical role of pharmacies, supports innovation, and ensures equitable access, especially in underserved areas.

The report says the pharmacy sector’s ambitions, set out two years ago by the Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund in A Vision for Community Pharmacy, align with those outlined in the government paper Fit for the Future: 10 year health plan for England. The latter proposes three shifts in healthcare - from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from treatment to prevention,

The new report draws out the relationship between CPE's vision and the broad aims of the 10-Year Health Plan. CPE and local pharmaceutical committees will need to work with decision-makers at both a national and local level to address the challenges that the government’s ambitions present, it says.

“Doing so will help ensure that community pharmacies can then sit at the heart of neighbourhood health services, maximising their impact to deliver better value for commissioners and an improved experience for patients and the public.”

CPE chief executive Janet Morrison said: “This important review of the relationship between the Vision for Community Pharmacy and the 10-Year Health Plan sets out a clear pathway to ensure the pharmacies of tomorrow can become a cornerstone of neighbourhood health. It’s landing at a pivotal moment as policymakers are working out how best to implement the 10-Year Plan and CPE prepares to enter discussions on what comes next for the sector."

Engaging government, the NHS and wider stakeholders on taking forward the 10-Year Plan’s ambitions, alongside the report’s discussion points, will form a key part of CPE’s influencing work in the coming months, the negotiator says. More resources to help pharmacy owners and LPCs in conversations with local stakeholders such as leaders of ICBs are promised in the near future.