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type: Answer
type: WrittenAnswer
answer has question: Jk9cgRY3
answer has answering person: MoB61exF
answer text: Health systems, policies and context differ across the devolved nations. In England, the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) 2019/2024 five-year deal set out how community pharmacy would be commissioned to deliver more clinical services and become the first port of call for minor illnesses, helping to reduce pressure on other parts of the National Health Service. Through the deal pharmacies have already introduced several new services. For example, NHS111 and general practices can refer patients to a community pharmacist for a minor illness consultation and most pharmacies now also offer blood pressure checks This is on top of the support for self-care for minor illnesses that all community pharmacies offer. In September last year we announced the agreement for the remainder of the five-year deal, which includes a further one-off investment in the sector of £100 million. This agreement continues the expansion of the services offered by community pharmacies by enabling community pharmacists to manage and initiate contraception, provide extra support for patients newly prescribed antidepressants and enabling urgent and emergency care settings to refer patients to a community pharmacist for a minor illness consultation or for an urgent medicine supply. We continue to consider what more community pharmacies could do, making use of their valuable skills for the benefit of patients and the NHS. As part of that, we are looking at what community pharmacies in other parts of the United Kingdom and further afield offer. Much of what is offered in Scotland is already provided by English pharmacies and the impact of any additional arrangements, such as the supply of prescription only medicines, would depend on the scale and scope of those proposals.
answer given date: 2023-02-14+00:00
answer has answering body: fpWTqVKh
written answer has answering body: fpWTqVKh