NHS England will use the Call to Action consultation to "explore the possibility" of granting pharmacists access to summary care records, health minister Daniel Poulter MP has confirmed.

Access for pharmacists would need to be considered as part of the development timetable for summary care records and must fit alongside other priorities, Mr Poulter said in the House of Commons on Monday (March 3).

However, pharmacists seemed less optimistic that the Call to Action would make this a reality, with 67 per cent of 95 respondents to a C+D poll saying they did not expect access by 2019.

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	Only 33 per cent believed they would have full access to the patients' records within the next five years, according to the poll, which ran over three days this week.

NHS England was "currently exploring the possibility of developing a case for allowing pharmacists access" to records, Mr Poulter said in response to a written question from Conservative MP Oliver Colvile.

However, this was being decided in partnership with the NHS's governing body for digital records, he said, adding that it would be "inappropriate to make any commitments" about when pharmacists could expect access.

During C+D's Call to Action Twitter debate last week (February 28), participants advised pharmacists to demand access to summary care records in their consultation responses.

In January, health secretary Jeremy Hunt pledged to give pharmacists priority access to patient records, as its absence was blocking the sector from achieving its potential.

C+D is running a series of polls on its website for the next two weeks to find out what pharmacists want from the Call to Action consultation. Pharmacists have until March 18 to submit their response to the consultation by filling in an NHS England questionnaire.