Will Quince gets flu jab and blood pressure check at Boots pharmacy
Pharmacy minister Will Quince chose a Boots branch in Westminster, central London to get his flu jab and learn about how pharmacies can reduce pressure on general practice.
The Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) arranged the visit to the pharmacy. Mr Quince was joined by MP for London and Westminster, Nickie Aiken.
The CCA wrote in a statement released yesterday (October 25) that "the minister was able to see first-hand much of what the community pharmacy sector has to offer patients and the NHS".
A Boots pharmacist called Flavia walked him through "the broad range of services the pharmacy delivers", including the new medicines, emergency contraception and community pharmacist consultation services.
In a tweet following his visit, he said he also got his blood pressure checked and urged all those eligible to get their flu jab.
A pleasure to join my friend and colleague @twocitiesnickie
— Will Quince MP 🇬🇧 (@willquince) October 25, 2022
at Victoria @BootsUK to meet pharmacists, get our flu jabs and have our blood pressure checked.
The flu jab helps protect you this winter. If eligible, please come forward as soon as you can: https://t.co/1zZIiFCn1r pic.twitter.com/azw0k0ec0R
Future of community pharmacy discussion
The minister also met CCA chief executive, Malcolm Harrison at the Boots branch.
Mr Quince tweeted it had been "fantastic…to discuss the future of community pharmacy" with Mr Harrison and "to see in action what pharmacy can do to reduce pressure on general practice and support prevention in the community", following his visit.
Mr Harrison said the CCA shared Mr Quince’s "vision on how community pharmacies and their teams can contribute" to the Our plan for patients policy paper, set out by former health secretary Thérèse Coffey.
"It is great to have the support of the minister and we are excited for the future of pharmacy," he added.
However, Mr Harrison said the CCA was concerned that due to "the current levels of under investment, and the continued workforce challenges…pharmacies may not be able to deliver the minister’s vision".
A pleasure to welcome @willquince and @twocitiesnickie to our London Victoria store yesterday. They met our brilliant #pharmacy team to learn about the broad range of healthcare services delivered at the store and had their #flu jab administered by our pharmacist Flavia. pic.twitter.com/zvua21BPHk
— Boots UK News (@BootsUKNews) October 26, 2022
Earlier this month, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) CEO Janet Morrison said the government needs to stop recruiting ‘clinical’ pharmacists into primary care networks (PCNs) and GP practices as this is "absolutely shooting community pharmacy in the foot".
