The Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) and the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) have today launched a joint petition calling for increased investment in primary care.
The IPA said it is urging the government to put more NHS funding into local healthcare services such as community pharmacies, GPs and NHS dental practices.
It warned that “more frontline healthcare services will cease to operate” and plans to shift care away from hospitals and into communities “will not succeed without meaningful investment”.
Read more: Over 280,000 people have lost their local pharmacy this year
The bodies’ petition is calling for a “Primary Care Investment Guarantee” that would see the government increase the “proportion of NHS funding invested in local healthcare services every year for the remainder of this parliament”.
It also calls for “greater transparency” through the publication of annual figures that show the proportion of NHS funding is increasing and ensure the investment is reaching the entire primary care network.
“Fundamental change” needed
IPA chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck said primary care “is the front door of the NHS, yet it continues to receive a relatively small share of the overall NHS budget”.
“Community pharmacies and GP practices are being asked to do more while facing enormous financial and operational pressures,” she said.
Read more: GP leaders warn against expanded Pharmacy First service
Hannbeck stressed that there must be a “fundamental change in the way primary care is funded”, adding that if the government “is serious about shifting care into the community, it needs to properly fund the services patients depend on”.
And DAUK GP co-lead Dr Steve Taylor said the government has “repeated the promise to move care from hospitals to communities”, but this will not happen “without genuine increases in funding”.
Read more: Nearly a third of people use NHS pharmacy services every month
It comes after analysis by the National Pharmacy Association revealed that at least 280,000 people have lost their local pharmacy in the first eight months of this year.
And it follows the DAUK raising concerns about the expanded Pharmacy First service, warning that pharmacists “don’t necessarily” have the skills required to treat some minor ailments.
