NHS: Community Pharmacies

Debate between Lord Prior of Brampton and Baroness Cumberlege

Tuesday 6th December 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Cumberlege (Con)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In so doing, I draw attention to my interests as declared in the register. Also, I am a vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con)]

The Government recognise the vital importance of community pharmacy. Our recent reforms will reward quality and embed and integrate pharmacies with primary care, improving the services offered to the public and making better use of pharmacists’ clinical skills.

[Baroness Cumberlege]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. We are at one in agreeing that community pharmacy has an important part to play in the nation’s health. Is my noble friend aware of the report carried out by PwC, which showed that community pharmacy contributes £3 billion net to the NHS, the public sector, patients and wider society? That is through just 12 additional services; it excludes the core work of dispensing medicines. Will my noble friend and his ministerial colleagues reconsider the swingeing 7.4% cut in the income of community pharmacies next year and instead invest in their services, which are accessible 24/7, enhance the public’s health, and prevent patients going to more expensive GPs and ultimately to hospital and A&E departments?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I do not recognise the figure of 7.4%. The actual reduction is 4% next year and 3.4% the following year. I echo my noble friend’s comments and recognise the huge importance of community pharmacy. If we look forward 10 years, we will see a much greater role for community pharmacy within the NHS in supplying many of the services that are currently supplied by more conventional NHS services.

Junior Doctors: Industrial Action

Debate between Lord Prior of Brampton and Baroness Cumberlege

Monday 25th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, there is an important distinction to be made around withdrawal of emergency cover. I can of course sympathise with the tens of thousands of patients who have been badly inconvenienced—that is bad enough—but when you withdraw emergency cover, people can die. It will be surprising if there are not some severe outcomes from what is happening tomorrow. Tens of thousands of people have been severely inconvenienced; tens of thousands of people have had their treatment disrupted, but the real tragedy will be when people lose their lives.

[Baroness Cumberlege (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for setting out some of the difficulties that junior doctors face. I declare an interest: I run a company which trains a lot of junior doctors. Ten years ago I did the work on professionalism for Dame Carol Black and we produced our report, Doctors in Society. We said that professionalism is signified by the values, behaviours and relationships that underpin the trust the public have in doctors.

On Wednesday of last week I made a statement—I was asked to give a lecture—and I threw down a gauntlet to the Royal College of Physicians and said that it was 10 years since we did that work; would it not now consider redoing it? I am delighted to say that it has accepted that and I hope my noble friend will support it.

Medicine is a much-respected profession and withdrawing care from those in extremis is an erosion of professionalism. It is also an erosion of trust that the public have in doctors. I hope this strike will be resolved as soon as possible and that, at least, we can get on to see the issues that the Minister has mentioned and address them through the royal college and the academy.

[Lord Prior of Brampton (Con)]

My Lords, time is up so I shall be very brief. I am delighted that the Royal College of Physicians is going to redo its work on professionalism. My noble friend is right that the real damage could be a long-lasting damage to the public’s trust in the profession. However, I am sure it will be rebuilt in time.