Primary care bodies unite to call for increased funding

They urged the government to make primary care central to the NHS 10-Year Health Plan

Community Pharmacy England, alongside other primary care bodies, has outlined five key demands to ensure a long-term sustainable future for the sector.

Their key asks include increasing the share of NHS funding allocated to primary care in the spending review.

“Rebalancing funding to increase the levels of NHS investment in prevention and primary care will provide a more sustainable outlook for the health service in the long term,” they told MPs during a ‘Future of Primary Care’ parliamentary drop-in event hosted on Tuesday, 28 January.

The event was jointly hosted by the primary care bodies – Community Pharmacy England (CPE), British Dental Association (BDA), British Medical Association (BMA), Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) and Association for Primary Care Audiology Providers (NCHA) – at the Houses of Parliament.

Pharmacy APPG chair, Steve Race MP, sponsored the event, which saw attendance from 40 MPs and their staff.

Presenting a united voice, all five primary care sectors highlighted the vital role of primary care in the NHS.

“We need a more resilient primary care sector, enabling professionals to use their clinical expertise to offer care closer to home, focusing on early detection and treatment, as well as prevention,” they told MPs.

To achieve this, they called for primary care to be made central to the NHS 10-year plan and for a greater share of NHS funding to be allocated to the sector.

They also proposed using the existing primary care network to deliver more services.

Among their recommendations was better utilisation of community pharmacists’ clinical skills to develop a more joined-up vaccination programme and an expanded Pharmacy First offer.

Furthermore, they called for improving the digital link-up between primary care providers by granting read-write access to patient records for all primary care professionals.

“Fully digitalising primary care to improve outcomes and efficiency will strengthen the support for hospitals facilitating and improving referrals and discharges,” they stated.

Lastly, they demanded a bigger role of primary care representatives in co-designing future healthcare delivery.

They argued that the composition of Integrated Care Boards and local commissioning bodies is currently “balanced heavily in favour of secondary care.”

“To facilitate the shift from hospital to community, this must be changed through wider guaranteed primary care representation,” they asserted.

Zoe Long, director of communications, corporate and public affairs at CPE, described the five primary sectors as the backbone of the NHS, serving as “the first port of call for the nation on healthcare matters.”

“They also act as both a triage and safety net system for hospitals and specialist care; effectively advising, treating and reassuring millions of people and patients every day,” she added.

Following the event, many MPs signed a cross-party joint letter to the health secretary, urging the government to collaborate closely with primary care bodies to “begin the long-term process to rebuild primary care and help deliver on the Government’s priorities”.