Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the range of conditions that can be treated under the Pharmacy First service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy professionals are highly skilled clinicians who are experts in the use and management of medicines. The Pharmacy First Service, alongside other services that enable quicker and more convenient access to medicines, where it is safe to do so, supports patients in realising the maximum benefit from the medicines prescribed by their general practitioners.
In considering the services that we commission, on a national basis, we carefully consider their deliverability, including whether they are deliverable in the current estate, and any necessary IT and referral processes that need to be put in place to ensure patient safety. The cost effectiveness of providing services in community pharmacy compared to providing them in other settings is also considered. All services are kept under review.
NHS England is currently running over 200 pathfinder programmes, examining different governance and delivery models to understand how prescribing services could be commissioned from community pharmacy. This will help inform the future expansion in community pharmacy services, including Pharmacy First, over the coming years.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the report entitled Pharmacy Pressures Survey 2024: Funding and Profitability Report, published on 19 October 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As noted in the review by Lord Darzi, primary care is under pressure and in crisis. The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible front door to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals. Unfortunately, we inherited a system that has been neglected for too long and is no longer supporting the pharmacists we need to deliver for patients at a local level. I am committed to working with the sector, and would encourage all pharmacists to work with us to achieve what we all want, a service fit for the future.
Now that the Budget for the Government has been set, we will shortly be resuming our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding funding arrangements. I am unable to say more until these have been concluded.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of awarding teaching status to Lister Hospital; and when his Department plans to respond to the application on this matter.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Lister Hospital is part of the East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Officials are in correspondence with the trust about amending their establishment order to reflect teaching status.