In Views

Follow this topic

Bookmark

Record learning outcomes

It will be important for every pharmacy body to work closely with whatever structures the Government establishes post-NHS England, says Nick Kaye…

Labour called time on NHS England as the world’s largest quango and rightly so because it needs to go.

But what will it mean for community pharmacy?

Will it be a help or a hindrance to us? Maybe it’s worth going back to basics, taking a look at why it was set up and what a quango is.

NHS England was set up in 2012 by the then Conservative health secretary Andrew Lansley with the intention of freeing the health system up from political interference.

Political topic in vogue

It was thought that when the health service was not independent from ministerial control, the direction could be changed depending on whatever political topic was in vogue at the time.

That was instead of allowing longer term strategic control which would be for the benefit of people’s health rather than which political party was in Government.

This is what the definition of a quango is – a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation – which is set up by Government to oversee regulations and operate independently from politicians.

As a concept, this may have some merits in my view but what would this mean for community pharmacy?

One of the problems these arm’s length organisations create is the duplication of roles across the two organisations of the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.

Duplication normally brings additional bureaucracy, red tape and slows decision-making and cost, which is why the Government says it is getting rid of NHS England.

It’s also worth remembering local integrated care boards are having to reduce their costs by 50 per cent. I think it’s fair to say that since NHS England came into being in 2012, community pharmacy has not enjoyed the best of times. And that is putting it mildly.

Human impact of pharmacy closures is shocking

NHS England has presided over funding cuts that have led to community pharmacy enduring a 40 per cent cut in real terms over 10 years, resulting in over 1,000 closures.

The human impact of those pharmacy closures as well as loss of pharmaceutical care to the hardest hit communities is shocking to witness.

This has caused an unprecedented level of media activity, campaigning, petitioning and ballots and, for the first time in the NPA’s 103-year history, collective action.

The level of engagement we have had as a profession from MPs and politicians has been overwhelmingly positive. Let’s not forget, politicians are elected by their communities and the clue is in the title ‘community pharmacies’ – we serve our local population and we are trusted and needed by our patients and customers.

I have been in meetings where the politicians have said we would like to support community pharmacies more but that decisions lie with NHS England. So, I come back to the question, could this be an opportunity for us?

It will be very important for every representative body to work closely with whatever structures the Government establishes post-NHS England. We must do this to secure and improve our future.

As political power increases in NHS, pharmacy needs strong advocates

Less red tape and more political good will should be to our advantage but there are risks in having political control of health. Unless we keep ourselves in the public eye and at the forefront of ministers’ minds, we will slip down the order of importance and we can’t allow that to happen.

If there is to be a true change in decision-making and speeding up of efficiencies and more funding going to the frontline, then I believe it could be an opportunity, but there are still lots of questions that remain.

A colleague said to me recently that lots of doors in Whitehall have more filler than wood due to the number of times a department has changed but the people have stayed the same.

I agree with that but, somehow, this feels very different and that will affect many people’s livelihoods in NHS England, so the jury is out.

But it is clear that as ministerial and political power increases in the health service, community pharmacy needs to have strong advocates. That will become more and more important at local and national levels.

Nick Kaye is a community pharmacist based in Newquay and chair of the National Pharmacy Association. These are his personal views.