§ Lord Clement-Jonesasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of pharmacies have facilities to obtain information about a customer's medical history in private. [HL2028]
§ Lord WarnerThis information is not held centrally.
However, the Office of Fair Trading's report The control of entry regulations and retail pharmacy services in the UK, published in January 2003, included results from a questionnaire of pharmacies conducted by Frontier Economics. It reported half of those pharmacies responding had private consultation areas.
We expect the number of pharmacies providing suitable private consultation areas to increase. We are currently discussing a new contractual framework for community pharmacy in England with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the NHS Confederation. Designed to improve the range and quality of services offered to patients, our discussions include proposals for pharmacies to provide a range of advanced services subject to accreditation of the pharmacist and/or the pharmacy premises meeting specific requirements. This would include providing a suitable private consultation area for patients. We hope to conclude discussions shortly, and, subject to a further ballot of contractors, implement the new framework later in 2004.