Pharmacies are an under-used asset, according to health secretary Andrew Lansley, and should be an integral part of service delivery.

Speaking in a live web chat at www.number10.gov.uk today, Mr Lansley told C+D that GPs and pharmacists too often saw themselves in competition for resources.

Answering a question posed by C+D on the impact of last week’s health white paper on pharmacy, he said: “With GP-led commissioning I believe we will see a greater recognition by local consortia that pharmacy is an integral part, and an effective part, of how they can deliver services better, for example minor ailments and medicines use reviews.”

There was a need for people who were responsible for the care of patients to be responsible for resources, the health secretary went on to say. And he added that under the pharmacy contract services had not developed in the way that was intended.

“We need to ensure that the pharmacy contract delivers what all participants wanted, which is fair and transparent funding for dispensing and an increasing opportunity for pharmacy to offer health services,” he said.

When asked if PCT commissioners had failed, Mr Lansley responded: “Primary Care Trusts generally have failed to achieve the overall outcomes and quality through commissioning that we need.”

Read the full web chat as it happened, or follow the Twitter debate using the hashtag #healthwebchat