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Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) has called for the community pharmacy network in Scotland to deliver a national NHS weight-loss service.
The proposal forms part of CPS’s manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliamentary elections, published on 2 September 2025, which has outlined out seven ambitions for the sector that the body wants the next government to focus on. The election is expected to take place in May 2026.
“[Community pharmacies] already excel as weight management providers through their private offerings by supporting behaviour change, in person, alongside the appropriate use of medications,” the manifesto said.
It added that deploying new weight-loss medicines through community pharmacy would “ensure safety and effectiveness through a trusted supply chain and the ability to deliver face-to-face consultations”.
The manifesto also calls for community pharmacies to be commissioned to deliver a targeted diabetes screening programme, as well as cardiovascular disease screening.
Currently, almost half of the £875m annual NHS Scotland spend on diabetes care is used to manage “avoidable complications”, CPS said.
According to the manifesto, prevention is “crucial”, and that community pharmacy screening, linked with NHS services, would help people who are identified as being at risk to make “meaningful lifestyle changes”.
Other calls in the manifesto include expanding the community pharmacy offering of services for women’s health, paperless dispensing, more investment into NHS Pharmacy First Scotland and the establishment of a national substance use service.
National Records of Scotland data, published on 2 September 2025, revealed that drug-related deaths in Scotland fell in 2024 to the lowest level since 2017.
Commenting on the launch of the manifesto, Matt Barclay, chief executive of CPS, said: “Pharmacies are at the heart of their communities, trusted by patients and proven to deliver accessible healthcare without the need for an appointment.
“With the right investment, pharmacy teams can take on roles in tackling obesity, reducing drug deaths, preventing long-term conditions and supporting women’s health.
“This manifesto is our call to action for all political parties to recognise the power of community pharmacy and work with us to delivering a healthier Scotland.”
CPS’s manifesto follows the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) Scottish election manifesto, published in July 2025, which calls for pharmacists in Scotland to have read-and-write access to digital patient records.
In June 2025, the Scottish Parliament passed legislation that will see the creation of integrated digital patient care records to enable “secure and efficient sharing of data between healthcare and social services”, as well as allowing patients to access their own healthcare data.
At the time, the RPS said it would work with the Scottish government to ensure all pharmacists had access to these records.
The RPS’s manifesto also calls on the incoming Scottish government to improve workforce planning, develop a more sustainable approach to medicines, and ensure protected time for learning and development across the pharmacy profession.
Laura Wilson, director for Scotland at the RPS, commented: “We were proud to recently launch our RPS Scotland manifesto ahead of next year’s Scottish elections, and we are pleased to see some shared themes in CPS’s manifesto, too.”
“Top of our list is ensuring that every pharmacist has read-and-write access to a digital health and care record for their patients, which can be accessed regardless of their location and which technology they are using,” Wilson said.
“This will enable pharmacists to make the most of all their skills, including prescribing, and ensure patients receive high-quality, effective and safe care.”
The RPS has also published its manifesto ahead of elections for the Senedd in Wales, which will be held in May 2026.
The RPS’s Welsh manifesto urges government to use pharmacists’ expertise to reduce hospital admissions, to tackle medicines waste and inappropriate disposal, and to secure the future sustainability of the profession through workforce investment.
It also calls for pharmacist job plans in Wales to include dedicated time for training, teaching and research, as well as recommends supporting and funding the profession to implement Health Education and Improvement Wales’s ‘Strategic pharmacy workforce plan‘ and the RPS’s vision for 2030, entitled ‘Pharmacy: delivering a healthier Wales‘.
Elen Jones, director for Wales at the RPS, said: “Our calls are backed by years of sustained political engagement, including regular briefings for members of the Senedd, pharmacy site visits and party conference events.”
