For years pharmacy has been the Cinderella profession and pharmacists, the most under-utilised of all the healthcare professions. Hospitals got the value of pharmacists as clinicians many years ago but primary care has only just cottoned on to the huge untapped potential. Why has this been allowed to happen? Numerous reasons; Primary Care Organisations dominated by GPs hasn’t helped but the main reason is the Pharmacy professions own fault, self-imposed isolation. Let’s be honest, pharmacy contractors have done very well for themselves for many years and when while the outward face of the profession was the local independent pharmacist with long ties to the area and a strong personal relationship with the local GPs and public, that was OK. The acceleration towards multi-national ownership of community pharmacy and constant movement of pharmacists throughout their branch-network has ruined those important ties and allowed locum CCGs. Government and NHS England to question why they are paying these huge organisations vast sums for distributing medication.
Carrying on the Cinderella analogy, we have reached the Ball and Prince Charming in the guise of NHS England have noticed pharmacists and are busy whisking us around the dance floor with the Clinical Pharmacist in GP Practices Programme. However, you can guarantee that there are few Ugly Sisters out there plotting our downfall! This initial move to a more clinical role in GP Practices will only realise it’s full potential if the whole profession joins in, with community pharmacists committing to a more clinical rather than commercial focus and a new type of Pharmacy Contract is needed to enable this to happen. In jy view we actually need two contracts, one commercial and signed between commissioners and contractors and a second contract between community pharmacists and NHS England that focuses on clinical priorities and fits in with the priorities of local health Neighbourhoods
The future is bright for pharmacists but if we don’t grab the opportunity now, it’s pumpkins for us at the stroke of midnight!
