The UK Government has launched a consultation to help inform a proposed 10-Year Health Plan and build an NHS ‘fit for the future’.

Members of the public, as well as healthcare staff and experts have been invited to share their experiences, views and ideas on the NHS via an online platform, Change.NHS.uk.

The public engagement exercise will focus on three shifts in healthcare - hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention.

Chair of RPS England Tase Oputu said:

“Medicines are a fundamental part of the health service and with increasing prescription volumes, the 10-Year Health Plan must consider how pharmacists can be enabled to support the best use of medicines across the system.

“The Government has recognised the huge potential for pharmacist prescribing to enhance patient care and it must now make this a reality. Supporting patient access to community pharmacies should be at the heart of the new neighbourhood health service.

“Pharmacists will be crucial to delivering ambitions around public health and prevention, and they have long called for read-write access to patient records across care settings.

“As pharmacists play a more clinical role in the NHS, we must ensure they receive the support they need throughout their career, including through Protected Learning Time and enabling pharmacy students to access the Learning Support Fund.

“While there is a clear benefit to supporting care for patients closer to home, there is a pressing need to invest in hospital pharmacy, accelerating the roll-out of electronic prescribing and ensuring aseptic pharmacy sites are fit for the future of personalised medicines.

“I know that members across the country are already doing great work every day. It’s vitally important that pharmacists and pharmacy teams engage with this national conversation and help share their ideas for how the NHS can be ready for the future.”

A survey will be issued to members in England who will be able to feed in ideas or evidence and help shape the RPS response to the consultation. In the meantime, any immediate comments can be made via [email protected].

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