Patients in Hull West and Haltemprice are set to benefit from more services at their
local pharmacy following record investment for community pharmacies by the Labour
Government through its Plan for Change.
Labour promised to shift care from hospitals into the community and community
pharmacies will play a vital role in delivering patient services at convenient locations
under this plan, as well as helping the Government’s wider objectives to build an NHS fit
for the future.
Under the Conservatives, years of underfunding and neglect left the sector facing
significant financial shortfalls, impacting community pharmacies on local high streets
and patients in Hull West and Haltemprice.
The package announced on Monday 31st March is the first full-year funding
package agreed by the sector since 2023, providing community pharmacies with an
extra £617 million over two years.
The investment comes alongside reforms to deliver a raft of patient benefits so that
people can more easily access care and support on their high streets.
The reforms include:
• Ending the postcode lottery for women by making the ‘morning-after pill’ available free
of charge at pharmacies on the NHS for the first time ever.
• Boosting mental health support in the community by offering patients suffering
depression convenient support at pharmacies when they are prescribed
antidepressants
• Giving patients easier access to consultations by cutting red tape and bureaucracy so
that more of the pharmacy team able to deliver a wider number of services.
• Boosting funding for medicine supply so patients have better access to the medicines
prescribed for them.
The reforms will not only improve access for patients, they will free up GP time and help
cut waiting lists.
Emma Hardy, MP for Hull West and Haltemprice said: “After years of neglect under the
Conservatives, we saw the pressure and even closure facing community pharmacies
across Hull West and Haltemprice.
“This Labour Government promised they would shift the focus of care from hospital to
community and, through today’s deal, that is exactly what they are delivering for high
streets and patients in our community.”
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Community pharmacists are at the heart of
local healthcare, and we want them to play a bigger role as we shift care out of hospitals
and into the community through our Plan for Change.
“We’re working to turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect that has left the
sector on the brink of collapse.
“This package of record investment and reform is a vital first step to getting community
pharmacies back on their feet and fit for the future.
“The agreement shows how this government is working in partnership with community
pharmacy to deliver more care for patients closer to their home, freeing up GP
appointments, and catching ill-health earlier and preventing it in the first place.”