Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the expertise of community pharmacists is fully utilised to reduce the burden on general practice.

Pharmacy already plays a vital role in supporting the health of people in their local communities, providing high quality care and support, improving people's health and reducing health inequalities. As we move to more integrated care, there is real potential for pharmacists and their teams to play an even greater role in the future, particularly in keeping people healthy, supporting those with long-term conditions and helping make sure patients and the National Health Service get the best use from medicines.

The Department and NHS England's publication Transforming Primary Care - Safe, proactive, personalised care for those who need it most, sets out plans for more proactive, personalised and joined up care, part of which is harnessing the potential of pharmacists. This recognises the vital role that pharmacists have in optimising medicines use, helping to prevent avoidable hospital admissions and supporting people to manage their own care. A copy has already been placed in the Library.

NHS England's public consultation, Improving care through community pharmacy – a call to action, has provided an important opportunity to explore the contribution community pharmacists and their teams can make. This will inform a strategic framework for commissioning wider primary care services in the autumn, including consideration of fully utilising the expertise of community pharmacists in reducing burdens on other health services, such as general practice. A copy of the consultation document is at:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/qual-clin-lead/calltoaction/pharm-cta/