From the Editor: Neighbourhood watch

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A colleague and good friend of mine has long held the view that “the future of pharmacy is local”. 

It is certainly true that the network’s community focus and neighbourhood reach should be a valuable resource for the NHS. However, it remains largely untapped. Switching delegated commissioning responsibilities for pharmaceutical services to integrated care boards in April 2023 has made little tangible difference on the ground. So far.

However, there are signs that the dial is beginning to shift.

Amid the ongoing furore over funding, you may have missed the publication of new neighbourhood health guidelines by NHS England, which again emphasise the Government’s desire to deliver more care closer to home. ICBs are expected to streamline the end-to-end access journey for patients, making it quicker and easier to connect with the right healthcare professional, team or service “including community pharmacy [and] use of Pharmacy First”.

To get a sense of what this looks like, listen to our latest In Conversation With podcast, where James Roach, director of primary care at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, talks about the role community pharmacy is playing in delivering his ICB’s vision of integrated neighbourhood care – with promising results. 

Meanwhile, proposals to delegate vaccination and screening services to ICBs might provide further opportunities for the sector.

On the basis that local conversations usually make for better outcomes, now is the time for LPCs, supported by Community Pharmacy England, to redouble their efforts to get to grips with what a neighbourhood health service looks like and work out where the opportunities lie – even if this requires a radical change of structures and mindsets. 

Local is back in vogue. My old pal may have been right all along.