We are proud to support our hardworking customers who are the backbone of our healthcare system - our local pharmacies. #saveourpharmacies #supportlocalpharmacies #healthcareheroes #communityhealthcare
Multi-award winning CEO of the National Pharmacy Association. Ex CEO of RCPsych and director of comms of RCGP. Values-based leader. Views my own.
We've achieved cut-through! When we announced our day of action on 20 June - called One Day to #saveourpharmacies - our aim was to get the catastrophic funding crisis in community pharmacy talked about by the media, in order to make the politicians sit up and take notice. Well, the great news is, thanks to your backing and support, we're getting our day of action, and the reasons we're staging it, covered by national news outlets. Yesterday, the day of action was covered on ITV's Good Morning Britain, as well being covered on page 2 of the Daily Telegraph. On Wednesday, I did an interview on our day of action with Sky News Radio. And last week, the day of action was covered by the Daily Mail and Talk TV. On 20 June, pharmacies across the four nations will be joining our day of protest to highlight the fact that: • 1,400 community pharmacies have closed in England over the last decade, with 10 currently closing a week • Pharmacies have closed in Wales and Northern Ireland • Pharmacies are at risk of closure, and are reducing hours, in Scotland • Pharmacies are regularly dispensing NHS medines at a loss, and • The medicines shortages crisis is, in part, being driven by the underfunding of community pharmacy. On our day of action on 20 June, we are suggesting, pharmacies: • Turn off the pharmacy lights (while keeping the lights on in the dispensary) between 9-11 am • Ask staff to wear black, to mark the dark times for community pharmacy • Black out pharmacy windows • Use #saveourpharmacies on social media • Encourage patients to protest outside pharmacies, about the funding crisis • Invite Parliamentary candidates to pharmacies to talk about the crisis. • Raise the funding crisis with local media, customers and Parliamentary candidates. Through lobbying and campaigning, we have managed to make community pharmacy a talking point at this election. And, for the first time ever, all three main parties have talked about community pharmacy in their election manifestos, which were published earlier this week. Getting the major parties to understand the central role that community pharmacy plays as the front door of healthcare is a major step forward. But we need to go further. We need a massive increase in community pharmacy funding now - across all four nations. So, let's use the One Day to #saveourpharmacies day of action, on 20 June, to really get the message across to the politicians that community pharmacy needs a new deal with fair funding. Now.