When two organisations who proudly insist they represent independent pharmacy pitched up at Downing Street at different times to ratchet up the pressure on the government, a familiar problem sprang up.

You have to see this from the government’s perspective. As the Independent Pharmacies Association posed for photos outside Number 10, followed by the National Pharmacy Association a few days later, those behind the famous black door might have been asking ‘why didn’t they come together?’

That might lead to further questions. ‘Do they have different agendas? Are we dealing with a disunited pharmacy sector?’ A lack of togetherness doesn’t have to be a reality to be problematic. Governments use the perception of division to strengthen their hand, although the Conservatives played on its reality.  

“One of the issues that’s been a challenge for pharmacy is a lack of unity. That’s one of the reasons why pharmacy has seen its share of the NHS budget contract sharply,” NPA chief executive Paul Rees recently told me.

He made the point that the NPA is “pro-collaboration, unity, partnership” and insisted “we don’t plough our own furrow. We work with organisations.”

As it delivered a ‘Save our Pharmacies’ petition at Downing Street, it was joined by Community Pharmacy England, Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland and Company Chemists’ Association. It would have helped their cause if the IPA had been there with them.

Of course, another way to look at this is the more pharmacy bodies beating the drum, together or otherwise, the better. That was something Rees hit on.

“Where any organisation does any campaign work, we think that’s good if they’re meeting MPs,” he said. “The IPA had a meeting with a small number of MPs in parliament. At the same time, we met the government health whip. It’s all working in the same direction in making the case to government.”

Personally, I didn’t think the optics of separate IPA and NPA visits to Downing Street looked great. Just as separate visions for England from four different pharmacy bodies last year didn’t look convincing. But then again, perhaps none of this matters.

Neil Trainis is the editor of Independent Community Pharmacist.