Pharmacy

(asked on 5th December 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress she has made on increasing the range of services available in pharmacies across England.


Answered by
Andrea Leadsom Portrait
Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 13th December 2023

The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal sets out how community pharmacy will deliver more clinical services and become the first port of call for minor illnesses. A range of new services have been introduced under the five-year deal, including minor illness referrals from NHS 111, general practitioners (GPs) and accident and emergency, blood pressure checks and a contraception service. Pharmacies also have a growing role in vaccinating against flu and COVID-19.

On 1 December 2023, we expanded the contraception service so that community pharmacists can also initiate contraception. Additional funding is available for community pharmacists to deliver more contraception consultations and blood pressure checks. Early in 2024, Pharmacy First will be launched, enabling community pharmacists to manage seven common conditions including the supply of prescription-only medicines without a prescription from a GP. The seven conditions are sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.

Reticulating Splines