MP Visit to Community Pharmacy: Karl McCartney
The Chief Officer of the LPC, Dr Tracey Latham-Green and Mr Marc Brooks, LPC Vice Chair and Head of Pharmacy at Lincolnshire Coop Pharmacy, along with the team at Newland Pharmacy in Lincoln were delighted to welcome Lincoln MP Karl McCartney to Newland Pharmacy last Thursday, 30th March.
Having attended an event in Westminster late last year hosted by PSNC, which was also attended by the LPC Chief Officer and signed a letter to the Secretary of State for Health to highlight the urgent need for additional support to community pharmacy, Mr McCartney was keen to find out more about the work of the pharmacy team and how he can help support community pharmacies for the benefit of the local community.
Karl McCartney MP, Marc Brooks, Vice Chair of the LPC and Head of Pharmacy at Lincolnshire Coop Pharmacy and Tony Hayer, Pharmacist at Newland Pharmacy
Tony Hayer, the Pharmacist in store, gave examples of advice, guidance and services that the branch offer, much of which is unremunerated, but whose provision is vital to patients in the area. Tony painted a very clear picture of the important role of pharmacists and their teams in the community, including their wider social and well-being impact on the people of Lincoln.
We outlined the financial and other pressures facing community pharmacy, providing Mr McCartney with a briefing that included an in depth financial analysis provided by PSNC. Drawing attention to and aligning with the recent messaging from PSNC to central government, we noted that community pharmacy needs:
- An immediate injection of funding to shore up the community pharmacy network. After years of funding cuts hundreds of local pharmacies could soon permanently close.
- A fully-funded ‘Pharmacy First’ service in England - This would allow patients to go straight to their local pharmacist to get support for minor conditions, and freeing up GP capacity, as they currently do in Scotland and Wales.
Mr McCartney also spoke at length to Megan, a trainee pharmacist who is studying at the University of Lincoln, but also works at Newland pharmacy. He was very interested in the flexible structure of the Pharmacy degree at Lincoln, whereby lectures are all delivered on two full days a week, allowing students like Megan the opportunity to take on part time roles that can help their studies and provide an income during their time at university. Mr McCartney is very keen to support the development of the range of Medical School courses at the university and sees it as a vital resource within the county to develop our clinical workforce moving forwards.
Megan Sedgwick, staff member at Newland Pharmacy and Pharmacy student at University of Lincoln discusses her role and university course with Mr McCartney.
Mr McCartney has asked for us to forward some structured questions to him which he will present to relevant ministers over the next few months. The LPC will liaise with PSNC to ensure we can maximise the profile of community pharmacy with central government and highlight the support necessary.
Thanks go to Emma Snedden from Lincolnshire Coop for the photographs and to all the staff at Newland Pharmacy in Lincoln for their assistance with this visit.
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