As Wes Streeting takes up his post and appoints junior health ministers, what can England’s beleaguered community pharmacy sector expect from the new Labour administration? By Saša Janković

After winning a large majority in the General Election, the Labour party announced a raft of new health and social care ministers, headed up by Wes Streeting as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Stephen Kinnock is the new Minister of State for Care, with a wide-ranging portfolio that includes community pharmacy. 

Community pharmacy also boasts two MPs within the new government. Sadik Al-Hassan, community pharmacist and superintendent of online pharmacy PillTime, is the new Labour MP for North Somerset – ending Conservative Liam Fox’s 32-year stay; and Taiwo Owatemi, also a pharmacist, has been re-elected as Labour’s MP for Coventry North West.

Streeting was quick to announce plans for his Department to expand its focus to boost economic growth. This includes an objective to cut waiting times and improve public health in line with Labour’s health mission.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) chief executive Janet Morrison wasted no time in highlighting Labour’s manifesto pledges to pharmacy.

She said CPE had “been in touch” to confirm its “readiness to recommence CPCF negotiations and underline how critical the situation is for pharmacy businesses”, adding that CPE was “looking forward to starting these discussions, including on how to turn the Community Pharmacist Prescribing Service as set out in the Labour Party manifesto, into a reality.”

For Harry McQuillan, chairman of Numark, this particular promise in the Labour manifesto stands out as one that should “redefine” community pharmacy’s role as the first port of call for the management of all things medicines-related in the UK.

“Labour has laid out a vision for the UK that prioritises economic growth, stability and, critically, healthcare reform, and at the heart of this vision is the creation of a Community Pharmacist Prescribing Service,” says McQuillan.

However, he thinks the concept “needs further exploration as the rights are already there through the recent change to undergraduate training that incorporates prescribing”. McQuillan says what is needed is “a fully costed service that allows the pharmacy profession to deploy those skills easily and safely.”

Reena Barai, independent community pharmacist at SG Barai Pharmacy in Sutton, agrees that Labour’s commitment to the Community Pharmacist Prescribing Service “needs to be expanded at pace”.

“From 2026, we’ve got trainee pharmacists coming out to be IPs, so we need to have a service within community pharmacy where they can use those skills,” she says, “because if we don’t have that service, we will lose our new and emerging workforce to other sectors where they can use their skills.”

Another hope for Barai revolves around mentions of efficiencies. “For example, should all vaccinations fit in community pharmacy? That would be an efficient use of primary care’s time, and we have a workforce which has shown it is able to deliver that over the last few years, both with flu and Covid.” A further efficiency, in Barai’s opinion, would be the expansion of Pharmacy First to include more conditions since, she says: “Scotland’s scheme covers many more than the seven we have in England.”

As the Government looks to develop a 10-year NHS plan, alongside an NHS performance review, Brendon Jiang, vice chair of the RPS English Pharmacy Board, says the recent Health Select Committee report’s recommendations would be “a good place to start”.

“The report highlighted both challenges and the opportunities for pharmacy, such as workforce planning, new pharmacist prescribing services and investment in electronic prescribing and interoperable patient records,” says Jiang.

“Pharmacy teams and the whole of the workforce are under continued pressure and it is crucial that a re-energised NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan is backed by much-needed investment, alongside steps to improve retention.

“The Labour manifesto also talked about a renewed HIV Action Plan and I hope the Health Secretary’s recent comment defending an NHS free at the point of use means the new government will back our campaign to end prescription charges in England.”

Lindsey Fairbrother, owner, superintendent pharmacist and independent prescriber at Good Life Pharmacy in Hatton, Derbyshire, says her hope for the new administration is that it will recognise community pharmacy more than its predecessors.

“I would hope that there’s further recognition of what community pharmacy can do to support the NHS, and that we should be seen as part of it,” she says.

“I hope that more use is made of our skills in community pharmacy rather than what we saw with the ARRS roles where pharmacists went off to work in GP-land. Let’s recognise what we do and let us do what we do where we are, rather than taking us out of our situation.”

Tight purse strings are nothing new. Mark Burdon, pharmacist at Burdon Pharmacy Group in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, says that he is “optimistic about the impact of the change of government”, but is “realistic enough to recognise that we aren’t the only ones asking for more resource”.

“There is a focus on prevention, which is community pharmacy’s strength – such as an expanded vaccination service, detection of atrial fibrillation, management of obesity and contraception,” says Burdon. “But quick action is needed to keep pharmacies open; the new administration needs to plug the holes to ensure the network survives and access is maintained.”

Former pharmacist and now managing director of Cegedim Rx Phil Galt is similarly clear on the need for a fast response. “I have a real concern that without true change more local pharmacy services will disappear and any pharmacists remaining will become so overwhelmed by the task at hand that they too become unwell,” he says.

“If this happens, in the longer-term, community pharmacy won’t be an attractive career option for people and there’s a real danger that we will face a serious skills shortage.”

Realistically, this work may not happen as quickly as the sector wants, or needs.

Shelley Dyer, head of marketing at Centred Solutions, warns that while Streeting has spoken about his desire to “reverse this trend so community pharmacy becomes the forefront of the health service”, he says it could be “up to a decade in the making”.

This, she says “may do little to reassure many community pharmacies who are already at breaking point.”

Morrison has warned that even in a best-case scenario, it could take some weeks before minsters are ready to commence formal negotiations on the 2024/25 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework.

Paul Rees, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, stresses that: “The decisions Wes Streeting and his colleagues make in the months ahead could make or break the community pharmacy network in this country, and time is running out to save our pharmacies. If he wants pharmacies to be a foundation stone of the Neighbourhood Health Service he has promised to build, substantial investment is needed, without delay.”

Noting the net loss of 1,200+ community pharmacies since 2015, with closures occurring disproportionately in areas of higher deprivation, Company Chemists Association (CCA) chief executive Malcolm Harrison says the CCA hopes that core funding for community pharmacy is “significantly improved” under the new government.

And while the CCA is “fully supportive” of the continuation of Pharmacy First, Harrison asks for “assurances that the service will be funded beyond March 2025” and “expanded to free up further GP capacity”.

He has also asked for further detail on how the Community Pharmacist Prescribing Service might work.

Martin Bennett MBE, chairman of Wicker Pharmacy in Sheffield, says he is hopeful that the change in government means the sector will “revert back to negotiations rather than impositions”, because contractors “need money quickly” in order to avoid closures as cashflow problems get worse.

“Prompter payments for vaccinations and Pharmacy First consultations would be a start and would cost nothing,” he says.

Mark Pedder, commercial director of HubRx, the UK’s first hub and spoke centralised automated dispensing facility for independent pharmacies, says “now more than ever” it’s important that government truly gets behind community pharmacy.

“For too many years, pharmacies have been expected to provide more, but with less renumeration,” he says.

“This was unsustainable before inflationary and minimum wage costs overtook a static funding agreement. Now it’s crippling. Pharmacists want to be part of the solution to help the new government heal the NHS, but that’s only possible if both the core contract and clinical services funding reflect the contribution needed from community pharmacy.”

Perhaps the recent King’s speech offers a further layer of reassurance for the sector. Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) – who stood as the Liberal Democrat’s candidate for Broadland and Fakenham in the general election says: “It’s good to see that pharmacy is being mentioned so prominently as part of this important occasion, thanks to the profile and relationships that we have been building with key senior politicians to ensure our sector is viewed as a solution.

“I was very pleased that the Lib Dem manifesto included reference to this and that Ed Davey highlighted pharmacy in his speech in response to the Kings speech - I am hopeful that the Government will listen.”

Traditionally, the NHS has benefitted from Labour governments. Perhaps this will be the case again.