EXCLUSIVE

Pharmacy leaders will campaign to "raise the profile" of the sector to politicians ahead of the general election, the Independent Pharmacy Federation (IPF) has said.

The campaign was proposed during a meeting between Labour shadow pharmacy minister Jamie Reed MP and representatives from pharmacy groups, PSNC, multiples and independent pharmacies yesterday (October 14), IPF chief executive Claire Ward told C+D.

The group had met to discuss how to make politicians understand why the consistent delivery of pharmacy services could improve patient outcomes, Ms Ward said.

The pharmacy representatives planned to deliver a campaign aimed at politicians during the run-up to next year's election, including a manifesto of priorities to improve the sector. These "key pledges" would include the introduction of a national infrastructure to commission services such as flu vaccinations and smoking cessation, said Ms Ward.

The manifesto, which will be drafted in the next couple of weeks, would also call for the pharmacy and GP contracts to be more closely aligned so that the sector was in a better position to support patients with long-term conditions, she said.

While patients "already understood" the value of community pharmacy, the sector needed a system that ensured the "consistency" of the services pharmacists could offer across the country, she stressed.

The NHS was "top priority" for voters and politicians needed to recognise that pharmacy was one of the solutions to the problems facing the health service, she said. "At the moment politicians appear to be talking in the language of doctors, nurses and GPs," she added.

In an exclusive interview with C+D last month, Mr Reed called for a "long-lasting" funding settlement for pharmacy after PSNC announced that the current settlement would only last for one year. 

Last year, Labour shadow health secretary Andy Burnham MP met with pharmacy leaders to challenge them to come up with ways in which they could play a greater role in preventative care.

	What would you like to see addressed in the manifesto?