David Mowat: The Government believes efficiencies can be made within community pharmacy without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Following recent growth in the number of community pharmacies, 40% of pharmacies are now in clusters of three or more. In fact, two-fifths of pharmacies are within 10 minutes’ walk of at least two other pharmacies. As part of the community...
Neil O'Brien: The following table shows the number of community pharmacies that opened and closed in England in each of the last five financial years. This includes changes of ownership which are counted both as a closure and an opening. Financial year Number of pharmacies opened Number of pharmacies closed 2017/18 242 347 2018/19 220 347 2019/20 239 405 2020/21 236 451 2021/22 308...
Steve Brine: Following the implementation of the reforms, access to pharmaceutical services remains good with 88% of the population within a 20 minutes’ walk of a community pharmacy. The number of community pharmacies remains similar to pre-December 2016 levels. In Greater Manchester there are currently 710 community pharmacies with 32 protected under the new Pharmacy Access Scheme (PhAS) from the...
Steve Brine: 40% of community pharmacies are in a cluster where there are three or more pharmacies within ten minutes’ walk. As part of community pharmacy reforms, we have introduced a Pharmacy Access Scheme to protect pharmacies in areas where there are fewer pharmacies and higher health needs, and to ensure no residents in areas will be left without good access to a community pharmacy.
Andrea Leadsom: The Department is closely monitoring changes to the pharmacy network. Access to services remains good with 80% of people in England living within 20 minutes walking distance of a pharmacy and twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas of the country. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal commits £2.592 billion each year to these private contractors and...
Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of pharmacy consultations which result in referral to other healthcare services; (2) what estimate he has made of the proportion of pharmacies which provide an influenza vaccination service; (3) what progress his Department has made towards applying world-class commissioning competencies to the...
David Mowat: The Pharmacy Access Scheme will protect patient access in areas where there are fewer pharmacies with higher health needs, so that no area will be left without access to National Health Service community pharmaceutical services. Qualifying pharmacies will receive an additional payment, meaning those pharmacies will be protected from the full effect of the reduction in funding from December...
Steve Brine: The Department applied the criteria for the Pharmacy Access Scheme (PhAS) to all pharmacies in England and published a list of those it deemed eligible in 2016. There were 1,340 pharmacies on this list. NHS England reviewed, on application, pharmacies that believed there had been an error in drawing up that list; could demonstrate that a physical feature, such as a semi-permanent road block...
Neil O'Brien: Pharmacies provide vital and easily accessible healthcare in the heart of our communities. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal commits £2.592 billion annually to community pharmacy and in September we announced a further one-off investment in the sector of £100 million. Access remains good with 80% of the population living within 20 minutes walking from a...
David Mowat: We know that 40% of pharmacies are in clusters of three or more meaning that two-fifths of pharmacies are within 10 minutes’ walk of two or more other pharmacies. But we also know that in many places there are far more than this. For example, on Loughborough Road in Leicester there are 12 pharmacies, all within 10 minutes’ walk of each other. Similarly on Clodeshall Road in Birmingham,...
David Mowat: The reforms to community pharmacy are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. Although it is possible that the closure of some pharmacies may result from the savings we need to make, that is not our aim. We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent...
Steve Brine: We are continuing to invest in the development of community pharmacy through the Pharmacy Integration Fund (PhIF). This funding is being used to support the integration of pharmacy within the wider healthcare network and encourage a much greater use of community pharmacy as a first port of call for patients. The PhIF includes two pilot schemes, which direct patients seeking an urgent...
Steve Brine: The Pharmacy Access Scheme was introduced from December 2016 to maintain access to National Health Service pharmaceutical services in areas where the pharmacy’s closure would have the greatest impact on patient access. To be eligible for the scheme pharmacies had to be more than one mile away from the next nearest pharmacy and not within the top 25% of pharmacies by dispensing volume. The...
Andrea Leadsom: The service proposals, competency requirements and funding arrangements for the Pharmacy First Service were co-developed and agreed with Community Pharmacy England (CPE), the body that has been formed by the sector and recognised by the Secretary of State as the representative for all pharmacy contractors in England. The service will launch in early 2024 and over 90 percent of community...
Caroline Flint: The sale and supply of pharmacy and prescription only medicines for human use via the internet must be made in accordance with the Medicines Act 1968. There are approximately 12,684 registered retail pharmacies in Great Britain but not all will provide internet services. Registered pharmacies are not currently obliged to inform the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain if they provide...
Andrea Leadsom: Pharmacy First is due to launch on 31 January 2024. As set out in the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, up to £645 million is available this and next financial year to fund Pharmacy First and an expansion of the existing blood pressure and contraception services. A set-up fee will be paid to pharmacies that have signed up to recognise that pharmacy contractors must ensure...
Andrea Leadsom: The Department closely monitors changes to the pharmacy network to ensure access to the services the National Health Service provides. Access remains good with 80% of people in England living within 20 minutes walking from a pharmacy and twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas of the country. Every three years local authorities in England undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments...
David Mowat: Data is not collected centrally on the number of Healthy Living Pharmacies routinely. However, information on the number of Healthy Living Pharmacies is available for 2015 and 2016 following a survey carried out of Healthy Living Pharmacy Leads, by Public Health England. Details of the numbers are included in the table below. Number of Healthy Living Pharmacies in England and Hull Year...
Lord Prior of Brampton: The Pharmacy Access Scheme (PhAS) will be paid for from the funding for the community pharmacy contractual framework. The PhAS will be an additional monthly payment, made to all small and medium sized pharmacies that are a mile or more from another pharmacy. The PhAS has been designed to capture the pharmacies that are most important for patient access, specifically those pharmacies where...
Seema Kennedy: ...my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care outlined his ambition that the best technology available is used across the National Health Service, including in community pharmacy. The use of technology can improve the safety and efficiency of our services, and patients experience of them. Therefore, among other things, the NHS is working with the pharmacy community...