Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to build on the benefits of the Healthy Living Pharmacy framework and to increase the role of community pharmacies in the prevention of ill-health.

Both the NHS Long Term Plan and the Prevention is Better than Cure vision document, published in November 2018, set out an ambition for community pharmacy to take on an expanded role to support the prevention of ill-health. In 2016, Public Health England (PHE) introduced profession-led self-assessment for attainment of Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) level 1 status. This was followed by the introduction of a quality payment for HLP level 1 status attainment within the community pharmacy contractual framework. As a result, there has been an increase in the numbers achieving HLP status. There are now 9,562 community pharmacies in England, meeting standards set out by Public Health England and delivering a wide range of lifestyle and public health interventions. For example, to support national Smile Month. 74,563 pharmacy staff across England have passed an assessment of knowledge on children’s dental health and have taken part in a mandatory campaign to reduce oral health inequalities, to improve oral health in children under five.

In line with this, the NHS Long Term Plan outlines an aim for voluntary sector partners, community pharmacists and general practitioner practices to work together to facilitate opportunities for the public to check on their health, through tests for high blood pressure and other high-risk conditions. The Department is now developing a Green Paper on Prevention to further work up this ambition and plans for delivering it. This will be published later this year.