Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to use community pharmacies to reduce pressure on urgent care services across England as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Both the NHS Long Term Plan and the Prevention is Better than Cure vision document set out an ambition to better utilise the skills and expertise within community pharmacy. The NHS Long Term Plan introduces the development of pharmacy connection schemes that will enable patients, who do not need primary medical services, to be referred from NHS 111 and General Practitioner practices, to a community pharmacy for support and advice with a minor illness.

The Department, with NHS England, has recently begun negotiations to determine the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework for 2019/20 and beyond. These negotiations will include discussions about the role of community pharmacy as set out within the NHS Long Term Plan. As the negotiations are confidential, no further detail can be provided at this time.