APPG urges MPs to promote pharmacy flu services
Schemes such as Pharmacy London's could help hit pharmacy vaccination targets and MPs should call for one in every constituency, says APPG chair Kevin Barron
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The all-party pharmacy group (APPG) has urged MPs to call for a pharmacy flu service in every constituency. The APPG wrote to backbench MPs from every party last week to highlight how pharmacies could help the government reach its vaccination targets. It pointed to a flu service delivered by LPC consortium Pharmacy London this winter as an example that could be replicated across the country.
Along with the letter, the APPG enclosed a voucher from NHS England entitling the MP and their staff to a free NHS flu jab from any participating pharmacy in London. The 1,300 London pharmacies offering the vaccination were playing a "crucial role" in protecting the health of at-risk patients during the winter months, APPG chair Sir Kevin Barron MP said on Friday (November 21).
"There are pockets elsewhere where similarly good initiatives are happening, but it's simply not enough. If the London example were followed across the whole country, I'm sure the government's flu targets could be met," he said. Sir Kevin "urged" MPs to visit a pharmacy to receive a jab and talk to staff about the other services they offered to the public. APPG vice-chair Oliver Colvile MP stressed that a flu pandemic could "push the NHS beyond breaking point" and asked his fellow MPs to "check what's happening in their own constituencies". "If there isn't a flub jab service from their local pharmacies, the question is -why not?" At the October meeting, NHS England's head of immunisations Kenny Gibson told C+D that pharmacies across the country would deliver all adult vaccines - including pertussis and meningitis C - within two years.
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