COMMUNITY PHARMACY MUST BE AT HEART OF WINTER PRESSURES RESPONSE
Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland (CPNI) has called for community pharmacy to be fully embedded in winter planning as the health service prepares for another period of intense seasonal pressure.
The call was made at a meeting of the All-Party Group on Community Pharmacy at Stormont, chaired by Danny Donnelly MLA, which focused on Community Pharmacy and Winter Pressures: Delivering a Whole-System Approach to Care Closer to Home.
The meeting also marked the unveiling of CPNI’s Community Pharmacy Manifesto 2027, setting out the organisation’s priorities for the next Assembly mandate and the potential for community pharmacies to deliver more care within local neighbourhoods.
CPNI told MLAs that community pharmacies are already playing a significant role in helping patients access treatment and medicines without needing to attend a GP practice, out-of-hours service or emergency department.
During winter 2025/26, pharmacies dispensed 22 million prescription items between September and February, while the Emergency Supply Service provided almost 100,000 items, a 21% increase on the previous year. More than 100,000 Pharmacy First consultations were also delivered between September and January, alongside more than 68,500 flu and COVID vaccinations through community pharmacies.
CPNI said the Pharmacy First service demonstrates how appropriate care can be shifted closer to home but warned that the scope of services available to patients in Northern Ireland has not expanded at the same pace as elsewhere in the UK.
The Department of Health’s own commissioning plans envisage an expanded Pharmacy First service, including greater use of independent prescribing and diagnostics, while community pharmacy is also expected to play a role in areas including vaccination, hypertension, medicines support and care following discharge from hospital.
Marie Smith, Chair of Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland, said: “Community pharmacy is neighbourhood healthcare in action. Pharmacies are already embedded in communities, open without appointments and supporting hundreds of thousands of people with medicines,
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advice, vaccination and treatment for everyday health conditions.
“The evidence from last winter shows what community pharmacy is already delivering, but there is much more that could be done if the sector was properly integrated into winter planning and given the resources to expand services such as Pharmacy First.
“When people cannot access care elsewhere, community pharmacies are often the first place they turn. Enabling pharmacists to safely manage more conditions in the community would help patients get treatment sooner while reducing avoidable pressure elsewhere in the health service.”
The APG also discussed the Department of Health’s developing Neighbourhood Model, under which community pharmacies are expected to work alongside other health and community providers through Integrated Neighbourhood Teams. The Department’s annual review describes community pharmacy as one of the four pillars of primary care and highlights its role in delivering accessible treatment and prevention services within local communities.
However, CPNI warned that pharmacies cannot be expected to take on an increasing role in health service transformation without addressing the financial and operational pressures facing the network.
The organisation highlighted growing medicines supply pressures, with more than 200 common generic medicine lines currently affected each month, impacting the supply of more than one million packs by Northern Ireland pharmacies each month. CPNI said this represents almost double the average levels experienced during the corresponding period last winter.
CPNI also raised concerns over the opening 2026/27 community pharmacy funding allocation, saying it had been informed of the settlement without an opportunity to negotiate either the allocation or the associated conditions.
LEFT TO RIGHT: GERARD GREENE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF CPNI), MARIE SMITH (CHAIR OF CPNI), DANNY DONNELLY MLA (CHAIR OF THE ALL-PARTY GROUP ON COMMUNITY PHARMACY), TURLOUGH HAMILL (VICE -CHAIR OF CPNI)
According to CPNI, the only material change in overall funding that will be paid to pharmacy owners, compared with the closing 2025/26 position, is a £1,000 increase in the pharmacy Practice Allowance.
Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland, added: “Our manifesto sets out a clear opportunity for the next Assembly: stabilise the community pharmacy network, recognise pharmacy as a core part of neighbourhood healthcare and give pharmacists the ability to do more for local patients.
“This is not about creating a new service from scratch. The infrastructure and public trust already exist in communities across Northern Ireland. What is needed now is the ambition and investment to make better use of it.”
Danny Donnelly MLA, Chair of the All-Party Group on Community Pharmacy, said: “Winter pressures cannot be tackled by hospitals alone. We need to look at the health service as a whole and make sure patients are able to get the right care, in the right place, as early as possible.
“Community pharmacies are already at the heart of towns, villages and neighbourhoods across Northern Ireland. They are accessible, trusted and able to treat many patients who might otherwise end up seeking help from a GP or emergency department.
“As we move into another difficult winter, it is important that community pharmacy is properly included in planning and that we make full use of the skills and expertise already available within the network.”
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