Pharmacy Voice has welcomed the Government’s promise to make key changes to the Health and Social Care Bill following the release of the NHS Future Forum report.
The changes include renaming GP consortia as clinical commissioning groups to reflect input from doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
Rob Darracott, chief executive of Pharmacy Voice said:
“We are pleased to see a commitment to the wider involvement of healthcare professionals and patients in decision-making as the reforms progress and new structures are established.
“Pharmacy has an important role in supporting people living with long-term conditions. We have 1.6 million people choosing to visit pharmacy each day and we are keen to work in partnership so that people get best use of their medicines and receive advice from medicines experts.
“As soon as possible we would like to see pharmacy involved in the clinical networks and senates. We want to play a role in designing and delivering integrated care pathways so that best use is made of our unrivalled medicines expertise and accessibility. The renewed commitment to any qualified provider, albeit in a phased way, should be good news for pharmacy.
“We look forward to seeing more details and will work hard to keep pharmacy high on the agenda as the Bill progresses through its next stages.