Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of empowering pharmacists to conduct wider health interventions.

The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) 2019-2024 sets out the ambition for community pharmacy to be better integrated in the National Health Service, provide more clinical services and contribute to improving public health and prevention.

Under the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service, staff in general practices and NHS 111 can refer patients to community pharmacies for advice and treatment of minor illnesses. The Blood Pressure Checks Service enables community pharmacists to identify undiagnosed cases of hypertension in the community and offer blood pressure checks. Under the Discharge Medicines Service, hospitals can refer patients recently discharged to a community pharmacist for support with their medication. All pharmacies are now also Healthy Living Pharmacies and have trained Health Champions on site who engage in local community outreach to improve health and reduce health inequalities. We are currently negotiating with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee on the expanded and additional services to be introduced in the fourth year of the CPCF.