Photo credit: parliamentlive.tv
Community Pharmacy England Committee member, Fin McCaul, highlighted the vital and expanding role of community pharmacies in the national vaccination effort during a detailed evidence session of the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee on Tuesday 11th February.
The session formed part of the Committee’s inquiry into the UK’s Vaccination Strategy and heard evidence from public health experts, NHS leaders and system partners, including Mr McCaul in his capacity as CPE Committee member and Chair of CPE’s Service Development Subcommittee.
Fin told MPs that while pharmacies were being used “quite well” for flu and COVID-19 vaccinations, far greater potential remained untapped. He highlighted strong uptake among ethnic monitory groups and deprived communities, emphasising that patients visit pharmacies “12 times more than GPs”, making them ideal vaccination hubs.
Yet Fin described this winter’s rollout as “absolute chaos”, citing confusing national messaging and booking system errors that led to frustration for pharmacy teams. He urged the NHS to prioritise clear communication and consistent eligibility criteria ahead of next winter.
He also warned that under investment in primary care, lack of payments for housebound patients, and poor data flow continue to limit pharmacies’ impact. Better data sharing, he said, was “critical for vaccination equality”.
Watch the oral evidence session in full
Community Pharmacy England is continuing to press for national action to unlock the full potential of pharmacy-led vaccination. This includes our call for more NHS vaccines to be commissioned through community pharmacy; the integration of booking and data systems across all providers; investment in premises, cold chain and workforce; and the proper use of pharmacies to tackle inequalities in deprived and inclusion health communities.
We are also urging Government and NHS England to provide clear, consistent national communications around eligibility and campaigns, and to ensure community pharmacy is fully embedded as a core partner in future pandemic preparedness planning.
Fin McCaul, independent pharmacy owner and Committee Member at Community Pharmacy England, said:
“The Committee hearing reinforced a simple truth: pharmacies are already key to reaching patients who might otherwise miss out on vaccinations. We saw strong engagement in deprived and minority communities this winter despite major system issues. With better data, investment and planning, pharmacy can make a major difference to national vaccination goals.”
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