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We all have our own opinions – but when Government sees us squabbling it weakens our collective hand, writes Shilpa Shah

Why is unity important when it comes to talking about community pharmacy? Well firstly, it's not just community pharmacy where unity is important. It matters for all primary care sectors.

As the saying goes, united we stand, divided we fall.

Secondly, it’s because if we as healthcare professionals are serious about helping patients and being funded appropriately to do this, we can only achieve this by being united. If we don’t do something differently, we will see more closures in community pharmacy and then there won’t be anybody to unite with.

Are we starting to get this in community pharmacy? At a recent pharmacy conference in Barcelona, we had the CEOs from the Company Chemists’ Association and National Pharmacy Association, as well as a representative from the Independent Pharmacies Association. It was clear to people in the room that there has been a huge step in the right direction - but real unity is still some way off.

As well as these three long standing trade bodies, there are many other newer organisations which are developing and speaking on behalf of contractors in community pharmacy. This can often seem disjointed to those working in community pharmacy; I can’t imagine what it looks like to those outside of the sector.

More than ever, we need the Government to see that community pharmacy requires urgent investment. We need trade bodies to show unity in the work they do and the messaging that they send out to the government, the treasury, NHSE and the DHSC. This can’t come through words alone but must be demonstrated consistently.

I see a lot of posts on social media from various organisations, all slightly opposing what another organisation is doing, or doing the same thing as each other but not together.

It's important to remember that social media is not restricted only to people that work within community pharmacy or healthcare but to everybody and sometimes it feels as though we are airing our dirty laundry in public.

We would be naive to think the social media posts are not seen by decision making bodies/personnel. At the moment it feels as though the ball is in their court because we often can't agree on the same asks, or at least that's how it seems on social media. This will give them ammunition when negotiating.

Doctors seem to work very differently. Whilst they may not agree with each other behind closed doors, in public they show a united front.

The recently agreed contract negotiations have resulted in the Government agreeing to a “reform” of some sort to the community pharmacy contract. I think that this is a real step forward.

My concern is around how Community Pharmacy England will manage to get feedback from those on the ground if everybody wants different things. It’s not going to be an easy task at all.

I understand that different members of the various organisations want different things. Whilst it may feel as though the right thing to do is to fight and potentially take legal action, from experience we have seen the consequences of doing that. Almost 10 years of pain whilst trying to build up a good relationship again.

I've heard some contractors talk about striking and I tell them the same thing I tell everyone. “Do you honestly, hand on heart, believe that all contractors will strike together?”

In community pharmacy we are unable to come together in a locality to stop offering free deliveries or to stop offering free dosette boxes for patients that don't need them under the Equality Act.

If we can't do this then do we really believe that going on strike will be something that every pharmacy owner will get involved in? I'm not sure that it will.

We need a culture shift in community pharmacy. We need contractors to help the trade bodies understand exactly what they need and to be honest about what they will and won’t do.

We need the trade bodies to work together to support this culture shift. No more fighting over nominations and more work with neighbouring pharmacies and other organisations to work out what patients in the locality need and to work together to see how services can be developed that will help them.

Here’s an idea: you could even call it neighbourhood working.

Shilpa Shah is chief executive of Community Pharmacy North East London. She writes in a personal capacity