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This White Paper sets out a vision for building on the strengths of pharmacy, using that capacity and capability to deliver further improvements in pharmaceutical services over the coming years as part of an overall strategy to ensure safe, effective, fairer and more personalised patient care.

It includes the Government’s response to the Review of NHS Pharmaceutical Contractual Arrangements conducted by Anne Galbraith, former chair of the Prescription Pricing Authority, which the Government commissioned in 2007 (published below). It also considers as appropriate views put forward by the All Party Pharmacy Group’s report The Future of Pharmacy (published in 2007) and considers the complementary but important work of dispensing doctors and appliance contractors.

As the Minister with responsibility for pharmacy, I am able to see how pharmacists make a strong contribution to delivering patient care – offering much more than the safe and effective dispensing of prescriptions. As Minister of State for Public Health, I value greatly the part that pharmacists play in promoting health and wellbeing. Pharmacies offer readily available professional advice – without an appointment – on self care and the safe use of medicines and, increasingly, services that identify
potential health problems (such as health screening) and support healthier lifestyles (such as stopping smoking).

I can also see that pharmacy has the potential to offer so much more. We can build on pharmacy’s strengths – in the community, where pharmacies offer healthcare on every high street and in hospitals, where pharmacists are already demonstrating their important role in clinical teams that deliver safe, high quality care to patients.

DAWN PRIMAROLO MP
Minister of State for Public Health
3 April 2008

Read the full white paper here (PDF)

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