Chair of the RPS in England Ms Tase Oputu has responded to news that the Government has approved the next steps for cuts to headcounts in Integrated Care Boards and NHS England.
“Pharmacists and pharmacy teams are essential to delivering the ambitions of the 10-Year Health Plan. However, the Government’s announcement of the go-ahead for significant cuts to Integrated Care Boards raises profound concerns about the sustainability of our workforce, the wellbeing of medicines optimisation staff and ultimately, the safety and quality of patient care.
“Pharmacists and their medicines optimisation teams within ICBs are integral to achieving medicines value and improving population health at a local level. The Government’s vision for ICBs to lead strategic commissioning is inseparable from the role of medicines optimisation, which ensures that every decision on medicines supports better outcomes, safety, and cost effectiveness.
“Removing or diminishing this function risks eroding the very foundation that enables patients to receive the right medicines, at the right time, in the right way. These roles are not ‘unnecessary bureaucracy’ or ‘administrative posts’; they are essential to delivering system-wide efficiency and equity in care.
“As the NHS moves towards greater provider collaboration and localised decision-making, the medicines agenda cannot be treated as an operational afterthought. NHS England’s own Medicines Optimisation Good Practice guidance warns of ‘serious risks to patient care, system performance and financial sustainability’ without a strong strategic medicines optimisation function at ICB and system level.
“RPS has consistently called for visible and robust pharmacy leadership across the system, from commissioning through to delivery – to safeguard quality, ensure best use of the NHS medicines budget, and deliver on national priorities.
“We urge decision-makers to recognise that cutting medicines optimisation capacity is not a saving; it is a false economy that jeopardises patient outcomes and the resilience of the NHS.”
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