EXCLUSIVE
 

Labour has been tight-lipped about whether pharmacy will be mentioned in its election manifesto.
 

Shadow pharmacy minister Jamie Reed MP told C+D last week (March 3) he could not confirm whether the sector would be included, as the document was still being drafted.
 

“I couldn’t tell you because I haven’t seen all of [it] yet. But we were the only party to mention pharmacy in the last general election’s set of manifestos, so watch this space,” he added.
 

In its 2010 manifesto, the party said it would “make more services available from GPs and through pharmacists”. All patients with long-term conditions - such as diabetes - would have the right to a care plan and an individual budget, it said at the time.
 

At the Labour party conference in September, Mr Reed called for a "long-lasting" pharmacy funding settlement to ensure stability across the health service, and said his party was considering proposals for more national services to be commissioned.
 

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham told C+D at the conference that he planned to expand MURs and give pharmacists a bigger role in monitoring patients on a “day-to-day” basis.

 

Which party will you vote for in the general election?

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