§ 32. Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made in improving the use of pharmacists within the NHS. [156317]
§ Mr. DenhamOn 12 September 2000 we published "Pharmacy in the Future-Implementing the National Plan" (a copy of which is available in the Library). This set out our programme for pharmacy in the National Health Service, to make better use of the skills and expertise of pharmacists.
We have since made good progress in implementing that programme. For example: on 18 October, we launched the first NHS Direct information points. 16 are located in community pharmacies; on 12 December, we launched the hospital medicines management performance framework, to make the best clinical and cost effective use of medicines and pharmacists' skills in hospitals; on 21 December we published the Health and Social Care Bill, which includes measures relating to the establishment of local pharmaceutical services and the extension of prescribing rights to now groups of health professionals, including pharmacists; and on 12 March we invited bids for the sites to take part in a national medicines management collaborative programme, a key step towards our target that by 2004 all primary care groups and trusts will have schemes so that people get more help from pharmacists in using their medicines.