Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt was among a panel of high-profile MPs discussing community pharmacy’s future in a restructured NHS during this Sigma Pharmaceuticals webinar, first broadcast on July 20.

The chair of the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee was joined by Jackie Doyle-Price, chair of the All-Party Pharmacy Group; Labour's shadow health minister Alex Norris; and Dean Russell, the Conservative MP for Watford and member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee. The webcast was chaired by former pharmacy minister Steve Brine and hosted by Bharat Shah, founder of Sigma Pharmaceuticals.

The webcast looked at the direction of travel for community pharmacy with the Health and Care Bill entering into legislation. Under the plans, commissioners and providers of NHS services will link with local authorities and other stakeholders, bringing together community, hospital, mental health and social care services.

Among the subjects discussed: where does community pharmacy fit into this new commissioning environment? Will pharmacy as a non-medical primary care profession have a seat at the table of the new Integrated Care Systems (ICS)? What advice would the MPs give to community pharmacists about how to engage with the new health system management structures at a local level?

Also up for debate were the implications for the sector from hub and spoke distribution, how community pharmacy more than proved its worth during the Covid crisis and the perilous funding situation facing contractors.

This must-see event is now available to watch on demand. Please click on the link for a fascinating insight into the thinking of some of our leading Parliamentarians regarding community pharmacy and its future.