Pharmacies (Hansard, 25 February 2003)

Lord Clement-Jones asked
Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Department of Health has taken a view on the report by the Office of Fair Trading into The control of entry regulations and retail pharmacy services in the UK.

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)
My Lords, we are considering the report from the Director-General of Fair Trading carefully. We have invited views and are meeting key interests to hear their reactions. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry is co-ordinating that work.

§ Lord Clement-Jones
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. As he will be aware, the issue of the abolition of entry controls for community pharmacies is of great importance. Does he agree that the future of pharmacies is not just about price competition but about healthcare, quality of service to the community and local people's access to pharmacy services? Will the Department of Health ensure that the debate is placed in the proper context and give robust evidence to the OFT about the healthcare issues involved?

§ Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
My Lords, I understand the issues that the noble Lord has raised. It will be for the Government as a whole to respond to the OFT report. My department will play a full part in the discussions that will lead to an eventual decision.
The Office of Fair Trading started from the premise that entry controls to any market lead to higher prices, less innovation and poorer quality of services. It also considered that abolition of entry controls would not lead to a substantial reduction in the number of pharmacies. We shall of course listen most carefully to those intimately concerned with community pharmacies to discover their views on the matter.

§ Lord Fowler
My Lords, I declare an interest as the chairman of the largest group of community pharmacists 123 in the country. Given that there is no suggestion of profiteering by pharmacies, perhaps I may press the Minister to go one step further. Will he give an assurance that the Government will decide the issue essentially on the contributions that pharmacies make to healthcare? Will he confirm the message of his own excellent White Paper, published two years ago—that the Government want an enlarged role for community pharmacists inside the National Health Service?

§ Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
My Lords, we will need to consider many factors when examining the OFT report. The noble Lord is right about the White Paper: the Government envisage a greatly enhanced role for community pharmacies. We believe that they could be used much more by the public to give advice. Indeed, NHS Direct now routinely refers 3 to 5 per cent of all its callers to community pharmacists.

Lord Borne
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that at present, patients—especially elderly patients, with whom we must be concerned—have ready access to a spread of pharmacies throughout the country, which is most helpful to healthcare? If entry regulations disappear and there is complete de-control, the ambition of supermarkets will be such that many pharmacies will be in difficulty and no longer viable, which will be seriously dangerous to people's health. That is a considerable matter that the department should take fully into account.

§ Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
My Lords, my noble friend raises some important issues, which my department and others will need to consider. The OFT concluded that, although access is generally good, there are a number of areas in which it could be improved. It also pointed out that there is a high concentration of certain pharmacy chains in some areas, which limits choice.
Although I agree that the current network of community pharmacists is invaluable to this country, we do not have a perfect distribution of pharmacies. That must also be taken into account.

§ Earl Howe
My Lords, in considering the matter, will the Government bear in mind the important role played by dispensing general practitioners in remote rural areas? I am sure that the Minister is aware that dispensing GPs frequently rely on dispensing income to support the continuation of medical services in country villages.

§ Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
My Lords, I understand the noble Earl's point. Discussions between dispensing doctors and the pharmacy profession have always been of great interest and intensity over the years. We have received initial views from the British Medical Association and the Dispensing Doctors Association and expect them to comment formally to us in due course.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, what will be the position if matters deteriorate in the way that has 124 been suggested and many local pharmacies are lost, but pharmacies are set up in supermarkets? Will the Minister and the Department of Health then be able to ensure that all the provisions that he said were so important, such as having a private, confidential area in which to consult patients, will apply, rather than simply have the Department of Trade and Industry deciding the matter on a non-medical basis?

§ Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
My Lords, I have already told the House that the Government will need to take a great many factors into account. It is the Government who will respond to the OFT report. The DTI is the lead department, but my department will play a full part in the discussions.
On the interesting point about private consulting areas, the noble Baroness knows that I especially support that prospect. Some pharmacies have now built separate, private facilities. However, that falls much more under the implementation of our pharmacy plan than under consideration of the OFT report.