Numark chairman Harry McQuillan has told Sir Keir Starmer he must properly fund and support community pharmacy if he is to get the health service back on its feet following the prime minister’s claim that the NHS has been “broken” by the Conservatives.

In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme at the weekend, Starmer (pictured) accused the last government of leaving the NHS in an “awful position” ahead of a review by Lord Darzi, which will be published tomorrow and will set out the problems facing the health service.

Starmer, who described Darzi’s review as “raw and honest,” said it would highlight that children, in particular, have been “let down” by the health service. Starmer also criticised the “hopelessly misconceived” reforms by former health secretary Andrew Lansley in 2012.

McQuillan  told Independent Community Pharmacist the NHS has suffered from “decades of underfunding, mismanagement and systemic neglect,” but reminded Starmer that community pharmacies need better support.

“As the conversation around the state of the NHS in England intensifies, it's becoming increasingly clear that the backbone of patient care, community pharmacy, is in urgent need of attention,” McQuillan said.

“While I agree that successive governments have contributed to the current situation, there is one critical aspect that remains undervalued: the role of community pharmacies as a key enabler of improved patient access, care, and outcomes.”

McQuillan insisted the community pharmacy network was too often being overlooked “in wider NHS policy discussions” despite its huge importance to local populations.

“Despite this pivotal role, community pharmacies in England are crumbling under the weight of underfunding, leading to reduced patient access and compromised care,” he said.

“While GP surgeries and hospitals garner headlines, pharmacies are quietly collapsing, many are closing their doors, unable to make ends meet.”

McQuillan said the current level of funding for community pharmacy was “unsustainable” and warned “immediate cash resource” needs to be put in place to stop the pharmacy network vanishing.

“We risk losing this vital part of the healthcare system,” he said, insisting “chronic underfunding of community pharmacy in England” must come to an end.

“The story is quite different elsewhere in the UK. In Scotland, for instance, community pharmacy is seen not just as an adjunct to primary care but as an integral part of the healthcare ecosystem,” he said.

“In Wales, whilst funding remains flat, there is hope of an in-year increment wholly focused on the development of service provision.

“These countries have made better use of the assets they have, building systems where GPs and pharmacies work in partnership. England, on the other hand, has left its pharmacies to struggle.”