EXCLUSIVE

Seven in 10 pharmacists will not vote for a party based on its plans for the sector.

Sixty-eight per cent of 72 respondents to a C+D poll, which ran April 5-7, said the parties' recent announcements about their plans to expand the role of community pharmacists would not affect who they voted for in the general election today (May 7).

Sixteen per cent of respondents said the parties’ plans for the sector had helped confirm their voting choice, while 8 per cent said it had changed their initial decision. Eight per cent said they did not plan to vote at all.

Pharmacy Voice chief executive Rob Darracott said that, although pharmacy was a “passionate” profession, politicians’ messages and interactions with the sector would only influence pharmacists’ views to “some extent”.
 
“There are a huge range of different factors and influencers that matter to individuals,” he told C+D.
 
Amish Patel, manager of Hodgson Pharmacy in Kent, agreed that there was "more to voting than just pharmacy". Pharmacists should take account of the economy when voting in order to ensure "pharmacy will be safe", he added. 
 
Labour told C+D last week that it wanted to work with readers to find ways to expand the sector's role if the party won the general election. The Conservative party set out five ways for pharmacists to improve patient care and assist GPs, while the Liberal Democrats pledged to consider commissioning more national community pharmacy services.

Read C+D’s full election coverage here.

What should the new governemnt do to expand the sector's role?

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