Community Pharmacy – Are we the humble forgotten sector?

Despite being the backbone of primary care, community pharmacies often do not get recognition and appropriate remuneration. Shilpa Shah, CEO of CP NEL, urges pharmacy leaders to highlight the remarkable work their teams do every day

We’re approaching that time of year where the sun is supposed to be shinning and things are supposed to quieten down over the summer holidays (note I said supposed to. . . well we have the sun at least).

The elections are over, and a new party is in power. Wes Streeting is the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. He’s met with GPs and Dentists and has great ambitions for Primary Care but when will he meet with community pharmacists?

To be fair to Wes, he did visit a local pharmacy in his constituency, with CPNEL last year as Shadow Health Secretary (and was a guest speaker at the Pharmacy Business Awards 2023). He has also had meetings with NPA and CPE, so we know he understands the value of Community Pharmacy. The question is, do we as a sector and profession need to shout louder so that we aren’t forgotten about, as healthcare plans are being drawn up?

Community Pharmacy is a humble sector, not unlike most other HC sectors. The difference is that we often get forgotten. I have lost count of the times I’ve heard in meetings or conversations “Primary care and community pharmacy. . .” totally disregarding the fact that we are part of primary care.

During COVID we remained open to the public, whilst access to many other healthcare organisations significantly decreased for patients, due to them working in a different way. But this isn’t just about COVID, as that was four years ago. This is about pre-COVID and post-COVID. Community pharmacy goes above and beyond time and time again, but nobody talks about it. It’s just something we do.

Traditionally local communities looked after each other, families lived close by, and everybody knew their neighbours. If someone was ill, a friend, neighbour or family member would happily pop to the pharmacy and pick up their medication (and to the supermarket for bread, milk, and other essentials). With families being further away from each other and life being so busy many people are left without that social network/support in place. This is where community pharmacy steps in.

I know many pharmacy owners who continue to offer free delivery (often after hours when they close their pharmacy) because the person has nobody else to help them and they don’t want to let their patients down.

It’s not just the owners, staff often tell patients ‘I’ll drop it in on my way home.’ If someone is getting forgetful and doesn’t have any support community pharmacy often helps people order their medication, makes GP appointments for them, helps people understand the letter they got from the hospital and so much more. The staff in community pharmacy spend hours listening to patients, who share their struggles, whilst waiting for their prescription, often being the only person, the patient has spoken to that day or even that week.

Community Pharmacy doesn’t often get recognition (or appropriate remuneration) for all the great work they do nationally, so it’s really important that as leaders of pharmacies you ensure that you do shout about what you and your amazing teams do every day.

As the summer passes and we head into autumn, the Pharmacy Business Awards draw nearer. Scheduled for October 2, the Awards promise an evening dedicated to celebrating the best of the best in the industry. As the head judge for these awards, I want to have a difficult job in deciding, along with other judges, who is the best of the best because I know that so many of you are.

I hope to see you there so we can show people what community pharmacy, the front door to the NHS, does best.

Click here for information on our award categories   

Shilpa Shah is also a member of the Inclusive Pharmacy Practice Advisory Board.