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Labour has done nothing more than tantalise us about a community pharmacist prescribing service since it came to power 10 months ago.

That’s irritating and disappointing from pharmacy’s perspective because just before the party swept into government, it pledged to not only support the profession to recover from 14 years of underfunding but develop it and take it forward.

A funded national prescribing service would propel community pharmacy to the next level but, as National Pharmacy Association chairman Nick Kaye told this magazine, that “feels a long way away”.

“The independent prescribing pathfinders have been well intentioned and I know NHS and local colleagues have been working hard to roll them out but they have felt clunky at best,” he said.

“Very soon, all pharmacy graduates will be qualifying as IPs, so how will the sector shape this part of our journey so the service is well designed and does exactly what it says on the tin? How will it make the best use of our skills for the benefit of patients?”

His frustration was palpable. Now, before anyone accuses me of getting ahead of myself, I appreciate this needs a great deal of thought. It should not be rushed into. But how much thought has Labour put into this since mentioning the service in the space of a paragraph in its election manifesto last year? Not much, I'd say.

The party can’t be blamed for the sluggish roll-out of the independent prescribing pathfinders but it can be scrutinised over the absence of a plan for implementing prescribing across community pharmacy or how a national service might be funded. Has Labour engaged with pharmacy on a possible strategy?

Without answers, its election pledge feels mealy-mouthed. And the more you dig into this, the more exasperating it gets. During a press briefing on the 2025-26 funding settlement, Community Pharmacy England chief executive Janet Morrison revealed it “didn’t talk” about a prescribing service “at all during negotiations”. 

She made the compelling argument that it’s best not to bring it up until the government commits to adequately fund it. But the last thing community pharmacy needs is procrastination.

It needs a government that is as ambitious as community pharmacy is.

Neil Trainis is the editor of Independent Community Pharmacist.