Yesterday, Community Pharmacy England joined with the British Dental Association, British Medical Association, Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee and the Association for Primary Care Audiology Providers, to host the “From Crisis to Recovery” The Future of Primary Care parliamentary event.

MPs had the opportunity to learn more about primary care services and the professionals who provide them, as well as how they could help their constituents demand direct political intervention to secure a long-term sustainable future for the primary care sector.

MPs were reminded how primary care is the foundation of the health and care system and the front door to the NHS: where the public goes for advice, treatment, and referrals to more specialised care if needed. They were also reminded it is where the primary patient relationships with healthcare are built, ensuring continuity of care which is critical for prevention and treatment.

The event, sponsored by Helen Maguire MP, Liberal Democrat Primary Care and Cancer Spokesperson, was well attended with 21 MPs, Peers and their staff present on the day.

At the event, all five primary care sector bodies presented a united voice, and discussed through a Joint Primary Care Briefing, complete with shared mutual objectives. Our four calls to action for Government are:

  • Use primary care to prioritise care closer to home and patient choice;
  • Urgently invest in primary care to future-proof the NHS;
  • Give primary care a role to shape the future of Neighbourhood Health Services under Government direction; and
  • Improve digital infrastructure and IT connectivity for efficient community care.

Community Pharmacy England will be requesting one-to-one meetings with all politicians who joined the event to discuss – in detail – the crisis in the pharmacy sector. We are also asking MPs to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, to table Parliamentary Questions and to request a Parliamentary Debate to further amplify our asks of Government.

Janet Morrison, Chief Executive at Community Pharmacy England said:

“Primary care is the NHS’ first line of defence, yet it has been left underfunded for far too long. Community pharmacy teams, like our primary care colleagues, are holding up the frontline with extraordinary commitment, but goodwill alone cannot sustain vital services. Without urgent, significant investment, the foundation of the NHS will continue to erode.

The united call from across primary care is a clear message to Government: if Ministers want to protect access to vital healthcare, keep people well for longer, and deliver care closer to home, they must invest urgently in the services that the public rely on every day.”

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