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A national minor ailments service should be commissioned across England, according to a community pharmacy manifesto published jointly by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), the National Pharmacy Association and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee.
The manifesto was published on 19 November 2019, ahead of the general election on 12 December 2019, and focuses on how much more community pharmacy could do for patients and the community “with the right support and investment from the government”.
A national minor ailments service would help reduce health inequalities in areas of high deprivation, the document says.
It also calls for prescription charges in England to be scrapped; for NHS health checks to be available in every pharmacy; and for pharmacists to have full access to patient care records, with the patient’s consent.
The three bodies say that they want “greater recognition that community pharmacy is a solution to many longstanding problems in the NHS and for the new government to act decisively to unlock the sector’s huge potential”.
However, they emphasise that community pharmacy needs “fair, adequate, secure and sustainable” investment if it is to meet that potential.
The manifesto is published as part of a general election community pharmacy website, which includes resources and tips to help pharmacists engage with their general election candidates.
Earlier in November 2019, the RPS published a toolkit and manifesto covering all sectors of pharmacy. The RPS manifesto called for increased investment in pharmacist education and training, and for legislation providing protection against inadvertent dispensing errors to be extended to hospital pharmacists.
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