The Labour Government is injecting £800m of new money into the pharmacy sector
Patients in Exeter are set to benefit from more services at their local pharmacy following record investment for community pharmacies by the Labour Government through its Plan for Change. Having worked in the community pharmacy sector before being elected as MP for Exeter, and as the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy, I know just how hard pharmacy teams work – and how vital they are for the health of our local communities.
Millions of people use community pharmacies every day; to get their medicines, to be vaccinated against flu and Covid, and to receive health check-ups like blood pressure checks. Over recent years, under the Conservatives, community pharmacy has been asked to do a lot more, but without funding keeping up – meaning many pharmacies have already closed their doors here in Exeter.
I’m delighted that this Labour government is injecting £800m of new money into pharmacy to make the sector more sustainable, so that it can carry on its work for communities in Exeter and across the country. As we change the NHS to focus more on prevention than treatment, and on delivering healthcare in our communities, the role of pharmacy teams is more important than ever.
The package announced this week (Monday 31st March) is the first full-year funding package agreed by the sector since 2023, and the first increase since 2016. The investment comes alongside reforms to deliver a raft of patient benefits so that people can more easily access care and support on their high streets.
The reforms include:
- Ending the postcode lottery for women by making the ‘morning-after pill’ available free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS for the first time ever.
- Boosting mental health support in the community by offering patients suffering depression convenient support at pharmacies when they are prescribed antidepressants.
- Giving patients easier access to consultations by cutting red tape and bureaucracy so that more of the pharmacy team are able to deliver a wider number of services.
- Boosting funding for medicine supply so patients have better access to the medicines prescribed for them when they need them.
The reforms will not only improve access for patients, they will free up GP time, keep people out of hospital and A&E unnecessarily, and help cut waiting lists.
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Community pharmacists are at the heart of local healthcare, and we want them to play a bigger role as we shift care out of hospitals and into the community through our Plan for Change. We’re working to turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect that has left the sector on the brink of collapse. This package of record investment and reform is a vital first step to getting community pharmacies back on their feet and fit for the future. The agreement shows how this government is working in partnership with community pharmacy to deliver more care for patients closer to their home, freeing up GP appointments, and catching ill-health earlier and preventing it in the first place.”
