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The Government has today set out its plan for the NHS over the next 10 years which lays out its vision of moving care out of hospitals and into communities and promises to increase community pharmacies’ role in managing long-term conditions as part of a new neighbourhood health service.

There were no details on how Labour will fund pharmacies’ bigger role, with contractual talks for 2026-27 expected to take place in September. The Government also used its plan to say it wanted to “link” pharmacies to the patient record.

Sluggish progress on establishing a good quality IT infrastructure in England, as well as GPs’ concerns that they will shoulder responsibility for incorrect information entered into the record by a third party, have held up widespread read-write access for pharmacies.

The 10-year plan provided more detail on its vision of a neighbourhood health service which will drive Labour’s prevention-of-disease agenda and foster a culture of collaboration between healthcare professionals.

DHSC: Neighbourhood health service will embody new preventative principle

“It will bring care into local communities, convene professionals into patient-centred teams and end fragmentation,” the Department of Health and Social Care said.

“In doing so, it will revitalise access to general practice and enable hospitals to focus on providing world-class specialist care to those who need it.”

The plan said neighbourhood health centres, which will bring together multidisciplinary teams 12 hours a day, six days a week, will be established in every community, starting in areas of the country where life expectancy is at its lowest.

The DHSC said the centres will be staffed by GPs, nurses, care workers, physios, mental health workers and employment advisors and will offer tests, post-operation care, nursing and mental health treatment. 

“At its core, the neighbourhood health service will embody our new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can, digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed and in a hospital if necessary,” the DHSC said.

Intriguingly, given the Government’s desire to tackle obesity by rolling out so-called ‘skinny jabs’ to help increase productivity by getting people back to work, the plan said Labour wanted to expand access to weight loss medicines through the NHS.

There had been rumours jabs will be offered through community pharmacies on prescription but earlier this year, the chief pharmaceutical officer for England David Webb said they will initially be provided through general practice.

The plan also laid out the Government’s ambition to increase uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among school leavers as part of its goal to eradicate cervical cancer by 2040 and roll out lung cancer screening across the country for smokers.

There was no mention of how community pharmacy’s role might be developed and supported financially in these areas but the plan said integrated care boards will be “the strategic commissioners of local healthcare services”.

“We will build ICB capability and close commissioning support units,” the DHSC said.

CPE: Government must build sustainable funding community pharmacy desperately needs

Community Pharmacy England chief executive Janet Morrison said the plan “aligns well with the value that pharmacies can bring” but insisted “the Government must deliver on its commitment to build the sustainable funding model that community pharmacy so desperately needs”.

“Research shows the public already supports community pharmacies playing a bigger role in healthcare services, and the sector has a unique ability to break down barriers to care coupled with an astonishingly strong record on efficiency,” she said.

“The millions of people relying on them every day don’t want to lose their local pharmacies to financial collapse, which is something the Government should carefully consider as it seeks to implement its plan. This plan is not the end of the road; it’s just the beginning.”

NPA: It’s important pharmacies are at the heart of these plans

A poll of just over 2,000 adults in the UK, commissioned by the National Pharmacy Association and conducted before the Government released full details of the plan today, found 44 per cent supported making weight loss injections free in community pharmacy, rising to 55 per cent among 16 to 34-year-olds.

The poll, carried out by Savanta, also found 45 per cent want community pharmacies to provide more minor illness treatment services and 48 per cent want more local NHS services close to where they live.

The NPA said 80 per cent would go to a GP (65 per cent) or pharmacist (15 per cent) for a follow-up after a hospital appointment while 64 per cent would go to a GP (42 per cent) or pharmacist (22 per cent) for menopause advice and treatment.

NPA chief executive Henry Gregg said it was “important that pharmacies are placed at the heart of these plans”.

“Pharmacies want to be able to offer better, more joined-up care for their communities, so they share the Government’s ambition to bring care closer to people,” he said. “Investing in pharmacies can create a future where people can drop in for treatment, check-ups, medicine reviews, and advice.

“Pharmacies want to work with GPs, social workers and colleagues across the health service to provide better health care, nearer to people’s homes and take pressure off the NHS.”

CCA: Pharmacies are ‘well placed to take on bigger role’ in neighbourhood health service

Company Chemists’ Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison said pharmacies are “well placed to take on a bigger role” in Labour’s neighbourhood health service.

“The network of 10,000 community pharmacies in England are already driving a ‘neighbourhood health’ agenda, delivering high-quality healthcare from within local communities,” he said.

Insisting an expansion of Pharmacy First and incorporating independent prescribing into the service was “a no-brainer”, Harrison added: “This will bring care closer to people’s homes, freeing up as many as 40 million GP appointments, and reducing unnecessary hospital visits."

Numark: Pharmacists 'must be compensated appropriately' as their roles expand

Numark chairman Harry McQuillan told Independent Community Pharmacist that although the plan was "welcome news", pharmacists "must be compensated appropriately" as their roles expand. He also called on the Government to give pharmacists "the tools they need to be successful, including access to patient records via a central NHS system".

"This will be vital as prescribing becomes the norm within a community pharmacy setting and the government delivers on its pledge to introduce a community pharmacy based prescribing service," he said.

IPA: Unleash the potential of pharmacies in neighbourhood health service

The Independent Pharmacies Association chief executive Leyla Hannbeck said: "As the prime minister Keir Starmer and secretary of health and social care Wes Streeting unveil the NHS 10-Year Plan, now is the moment to unleash the potential of community pharmacies at the heart of the neighbourhood health service."