Health minister to discuss pharmacy with MPs
Jane Kennedy to discuss pharmacy |
Members of Parliament and peers with an interest in pharmacy are meeting health minister Jane Kennedy next week to discuss the increased role community pharmacists can play in helping to meet the Government's commitment to deliver more patient care outside the hospital sector.
The meeting comes as the Government is due to publish its long-awaited
White Paper on care outside hospitals. Ms Kennedy will discuss the potential
professional opportunities available to pharmacists under the White Paper
with members from the All Party Pharmacy Group on 23 January.
The meeting was established after health secretary Patricia Hewitt wrote
to the APPG and emphasised that community pharmacists were highly valued
by patients and could contribute more to providing support to patients’ self-care
through helping patients with navigation around the system or reducing
health inequalities. Her letter last week followed comments from the
APPG in December on increasing the role of community pharmacists during
the public consultation on the forthcoming White Paper.
Chairman of the APPG Labour MP Howard Stoate said: “I agree with
the Secretary of State that there is scope for pharmacies to provide
more care. With the new pharmacy contract now taking effect, the means
exist for that potential to be realised.”
But Dr Stoate warned that potential can only be realised if primary care
trusts also recognise the value of community pharmacists and invest resources
for developing the profession into pharmacy services. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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