The Covid inquiry chair has apologised for pharmacies not getting the “recognition” they deserve for their “superb work” during the pandemic, as the NPA chair called for pharmacies to be seen as a “genuine part of the NHS family”.
Speaking at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Monday (November 4), Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett responded to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chair’s claim that pharmacies were “often overlooked and underappreciated” during the pandemic.
She apologised for not taking full advantage of pharmacies during the Covid period and praised their “superb work”.
“I’m sorry [pharmacies] didn’t get the recognition at the time that [they] should have done,” Baroness Hallett said.
“Part of the NHS family”
NPA chair Nick Kaye told the inquiry that pharmacies needed to be “reframed” in the minds of policy makers so that similar “mistakes” would not be repeated in the future.
And he called for pharmacies to be recognised as a “genuine part of the NHS family”.
Read more: ‘Community pharmacy should be front-and-centre during the COVID-19 inquiry’
Kaye also stressed that a “sustainable and resilient community pharmacy network” was needed to avoid more “tragic” closures of pharmacies across the UK.
According to the NPA, Kaye said this network was necessary to provide a “shock-absorber” for the healthcare system in the case of a future public health crisis.
Early warning
It comes as the government yesterday announced (November 5) that plans have been announced for the UK to create the “world’s first real-time surveillance system” to create an “early warning system” for future pandemics.
Read more: APPG launches inquiry into COVID-19 impact on pharmacy
If an initial pilot at St Thomas’ Hospital is successful, the technology will be rolled out to between 10 and 30 NHS sites to address the “time lag” between new pathogens emerging and “action being taken”.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting stressed that “we cannot let history repeat itself”.
“Our NHS was already on its knees when the pandemic struck, and it was hit harder than any other comparable healthcare system,” he said.