EXCLUSIVE

The Scottish National Party's (SNP) landslide victory could give "traction" to plans for a national minor ailments scheme in England, Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) has said.

PSNC revealed last week that it was negotiating a national scheme for England, and CPS chief executive Harry McQuillan said the 56 SNP MPs elected earlier this month could help it take shape by sharing their knowledge of Scotland's existing scheme.

“I hope they are aware of the national minor ailments service, which they may well see as a benefit,” Mr McQuillan told C+D in an exclusive interview last Friday (May 15).  If any of the MPs were not already aware of the Scottish scheme - which launched in 2006 - Mr McQuillan said CPS would "make sure they know they've had one for nine years".

He also pledged to ensure MPs in Westminster understood the difference between pharmacy services across the UK so they could make "informed decisions" about the NHS in England and Wales.

The Scottish government had "committed to supporting pharmacy" in its 10-year vision for the sector published in 2013, said Mr McQuillan, who did not "see that changing in the immediate future".

The SNP won 50 seats from Labour in the general election on May 7. SNP health minister Shona Robison told C+D before the election that the party would push ahead with the government’s vision for the sector. 

Under the Scottish national minor ailments scheme, contractors are paid between £7,300 and more than £15,000 a year depending on how many patients they have registered. Almost 896,000 patients - 17 per cent of the population - were registered to use in the service in March 2014, according to NHS Scotland.

What effect will the SNP's victory have on the sector? 

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