In response to the Healthwatch England report, ‘Pharmacy: what people want’, Gisela Abbam, Chair of the General Pharmaceutical Council, said:
“This important new research report shines a light on people’s views and experiences of pharmacy services in England. It tells us that members of the public are broadly positive about their experiences of using their local pharmacies and are supportive of the idea of pharmacies offering even more services in the future. This really underlines the vital role that pharmacies are already playing, and the potential for them to do even more in the future to improve access to care for patients and the public.
“At the same time, the report notes with concern that this wider role for community pharmacies is coinciding with a reduction in the numbers of pharmacies. And it also highlights some significant challenges being faced by patients and the public, and pharmacy teams, including in relation to medicines shortages.
“Healthwatch has identified some important recommendations to help address these challenges, which need careful consideration by everyone working across pharmacy and the NHS in England, as well as the government.
“At the GPhC, we have already begun discussing how we may respond to the important issues raised in this report, and we look forward to working closely with Healthwatch England going forward”.