Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a national approach to self care that (a) encourages referrals to pharmacy for self care advice and (b) empowers community pharmacists to refer people to other healthcare professionals as appropriate.

The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) 2019-24 five-year deal, commits £2.592 billion every year to the sector. Community pharmacy will support delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan by becoming better integrated in the National Health Service and delivering more clinical services.

The Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) launched in November 2019, enabling NHS111 to refer patients to a community pharmacist for minor illness or the urgent supply of a prescribed medicine. In November 2020 this service was expanded to general practitioner surgeries and we are exploring the potential to expand the CPCS to urgent treatment centres and accident and emergency departments. Community pharmacists are already required, as part of their NHS contractual arrangements, to refer people to other health and social care providers and support organisations as appropriate.