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The profession needed to work together to provide a clear voice and make a better case to NHS England, Pharmacy Voice chair Claire Ward told the NPA conference in Hatfield on May 17. And the merger of the NPA and IPF was a good example of this joint working. "It isn't about individuals €“ together we're stronger," she said.

If pharmacy could get the message across about exactly what its capable of, there would be a huge change in public perception, said Ms Ward. "I believe very strongly that community pharmacy doesn't sell itself well enough. It doesn't show how valuable it can be. I am very keen to see community pharmacy start to explain to policy makers and those about to form a new government what community pharmacy can mean to patients."

The cake needed to get bigger for community pharmacy, said Ms Ward. "As the cake gets bigger, independents will do better. But our biggest problem is that I think too many people still don't know what you do."

Another key message to be handled carefully was that of pharmacists working in GP surgeries. The headline should not be pharmacists working for GPs, but better working between pharmacists and GPs.

Ms Ward warned how the Post Office network had been undermined because its branch functions, such as selling stamps, were allowed to bleed into other outlets, leading the government to question its funding of so many branches. "We can't have any model that will undermine the network of community pharmacy."