AN INFLUENTIAL MP has called for pharmacists to lobby ministers for a credible, multi-year pathway back to profitability as the sector grapples with a funding shortfall.
Labour’s Sadik Al-Hassan, who represents North Somerset in parliament, and is also the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on pharmacy, was a keynote speaker at the annual Pharmacy Business Conference last Sunday (19).
Al-Hassan, a former pharmacist, told the gathering, hosted by Pharmacy Business, a sister title of Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat news weeklies, that although public finances are under strain, no one should expect a “sudden, transformational injection of funding overnight.”
The government was committed in principle to bringing in a sustainable funding and operational model, the MP said, adding, “we must hold them to that commitment - loudly, unitedly, and with the evidence to back it up.”
Al-Hassan noted how pharmacies are delivering more complex clinical services to a growing patient base while receiving significantly less funding in real terms than a decade ago.
“The figures reflect this issue just as clearly – the total cost of delivering NHS pharmaceutical services across England last year was estimated at over £5 billion.
“The funding provided at the time was just over two and a half billion. That leaves a shortfall of £2.3 billion,” he said.
Among those in the 250-strong audience were community pharmacists and key representatives of the industry.
The annual conference, now in its 10th year, was hosted by the Asian Media Group – publishers of Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat, in Wembley.
Shailesh SolankiAMG
Al-Hassan illustrated how the government was committed towards moving care from hospitals into the community, as part of its 10-year plan. “And in that world, pharmacy is not a peripheral player. It is a cornerstone,” he said, citing the administration of four million flu vaccines and the success of the Pharmacy First initiative – which delivered more than five million consultations in its first year – as evidence of the sector’s impact.
The MP said community pharmacy “punches above its weight” and added, “When pharmacy speaks with one voice, things change.
“I have seen it. A united sector is a sector that gets heard – and more importantly, a sector that gets results.”
In his opening remarks, Shailesh Solanki, executive editor of Pharmacy Business, said while the new funding settlement announced last year was a vital first step, it was largely offset by rises in national insurance, the national living wage and business rates.
He told the conference, “Pharmacies have no idea whether they are accessing what they are owed.
“Reimbursement remains non-transparent, unfairly distributed and buried within a deeply complex system.”
Solanki also noted that pharmacy can play a bigger role in women’s health, in weight loss and in delivering a wider range of NHS vaccinations.
Baba AkomolafeAMG
“To achieve these ambitions, community pharmacy must speak with a unified voice, own a common vision and have a plan aligned with the government’s reform of the NHS.
“Only then will the government begin to listen and respond,” he said.
Conference chair, Baba Akomolafe, director of Christchurch Health Centre, said the event was an opportunity to explore how the sector can strengthen its business model through innovation, efficiency and expanded services. Speakers discussed leveraging technology, building capacity to deliver high-quality NHS and private services, and developing selfcare offerings as new revenue streams.
Attendees heard how digital tools and automation can improve efficiency and free pharmacists to focus on patient care, but that adoption must be guided by clear business objectives. There were sessions on leadership, workforce development and evolving service models.
The conference concluded with a leadership panel moderated by Shilpa Shah, with sector leaders calling for closing the funding gap, stabilising in medicine pricing and investing in workforce development.
