Agenda item

Written report presented by Suman Barhaya, NHS England.

The Chairman welcomed Surman Barhaya from NHS England to present a written report on Pharmacy Services following a request from the Health and Wellbeing Board. Members of the Board were asked to note the following:

The report focused on current government guidance for pharmacists, delivery expectations and on their role in general.

Pharmacists play a key role in providing healthcare to patients. Working in the community, primary care and hospitals, pharmacists use their clinical expertise together with their practical knowledge to ensure the safe supply and use of medicines by patients and members of the public. Community pharmacy is the service which NHS England commission via the contractual framework. Further services are also commissioned through community pharmacy such as minor ailments and public health services e.g. substance misuse services, stop smoking services. 

Pharmacists have to meet standards of conduct, ethics and performance set by the General Pharmaceutical council (GPhC). A community pharmacist works within the contractual framework and is responsible for controlling, dispensing and distributing medicine. The responsibility of performance management of this contract sits with NHS England. Community Pharmacies work within legal and ethical parameters such as the Pharmaceutical Regulations and the Medicines Act to ensure the correct and safe supply of medical products to the general public. They are involved in maintaining and improving people's health by providing advice and information as well as supplying prescription medicines.  Pharmacists are the third largest health profession. For many patients, this is the first point of call and that a person will visit a pharmacy 16 times a year not only for medicine expertise but also for health related issues such as minor ailments, healthy living advice and long term conditions. The service is usually convenient and anonymous.

It was noted that there were plans to further integrate pharmacies into providing primary and public health services – eg Emergency Hormonal Contraception access, condom distribution and contraception advice. There was also a plan to provide an emergency contraception service across a majority of London boroughs in line with JSNA recommendations. Pharmacies would also have opportunities to provide easy access to sexual health services such as Chlamydia testing, screening and preventative interventions on areas with high sexually transmitted infection rates.

NHS England (London Region) had recently launched a new community pharmacy initiative that would see over 1100 pharmacies across London working together to provide free NHS flu vaccinations to at-risk groups this winter thus complimenting the existing service provided by GP practices.

Thus far, the initiative was progressing well and data on the project would be available at the end of February 2014.

The Board were surprised to learn of the above scheme, as to their knowledge, none of the pharmacies in Havering were offering this service. The Board requested that further information be made available as to the areas covered and what the arrangements were to process unused vaccine.

The presenter acknowledged that there were several areas where pharmacy services could improve particularly around patient discharge from hospital. Pharmacy services could also further support A&E and other Primary Care services.

Board members representing the CCG were of the opinion that the system was generally fragmented and that the CCG would be holding discussions with stakeholders such as NELFT, GPs and pharmacies on working together to improve Primary Care services.