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Pharmacy “sits at the heart” of the Welsh government’s priorities for health, Mabon ap Gwynfor, cabinet minister for health and care, has said.
Addressing delegates by recorded video at the Royal College of Pharmacy’s (RCPharm) ‘Delivering a Healthier Wales’ conference, held in Cardiff on 25 September 2026, ap Gwynfor said: “We must intervene earlier. We must prevent avoidable illness. We must support people to stay healthy and independent for longer, and we must shift more care closer to home.”
“Pharmacy’s role is evident in terms of delivering on these priorities,” he said, adding that “for many people, their local pharmacy is the front door to healthcare”.
ap Gwynfor said that pharmacy “is local, it is trusted, and increasingly, it provides clinical services that help people receive care closer to home”, noting that “pharmacist prescribers are making an important contribution across a range of settings, and community pharmacies continue to expand the services they provide to the public”.
Pharmacy also plays a “central and proactive role” in prevention, “whether through vaccination programmes, smoking cessation services, medicines optimisation, healthy lifestyle advice or support for people living with long-term conditions”, as well as “supporting self-care, improving the safety of medicines, reducing avoidable harm, preventing continuation and helping people maintain their independence”, ap Gwynfor continued.
In addition, he noted that few professions are “as closely aligned to this government’s ambitions for health and care as pharmacy”.
ap Gwynfor was appointed as the cabinet minister for health and care on 13 May 2026 by first minister Rhun ap Iorwerth, following the Senedd election on 7 May 2026.
He also stressed that it was important to support the NHS workforce, adding: “We want to ensure that pharmacy professionals are able to practice at the top of their competence and continue to play an expanding role within multidisciplinary teams across the NHS.
“No single organisation can transform health and care on its own; success depends on collaboration,” ap Gwynfor said.
“RCPharm has an important leadership role to play in supporting that collaboration. I look forward to working with you as we continue to shape the future of health and care in Wales.”
Geraldine McCaffrey, director for Wales at RCPharm, commented: “Today’s speech was a powerful endorsement of the vital role pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and wider pharmacy teams play in delivering care for people across Wales.
“It is encouraging to hear the Welsh government recognises both the contribution pharmacy teams make and the impact they have in improving access to care, supporting prevention and helping people stay healthier for longer.”
