Supplementing Primary Care

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:28 pm on 3 July 2019.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:28, 3 July 2019

Yes, again, if the Member writes to me with the details of the matter I can look at whether it's an individual issue or a system-wide issue for us to address. But, overall, we have an ambitious programme for community pharmacy already as part of the primary care team as it exists, and a bigger role to play in the future—not just the common ailments system, but it's also why we're taking a different approach to other countries in the UK. Across the border there's a 7 per cent cash reduction in community pharmacy; over 120 community pharmacies have closed. We've maintained our investment, we've increased it, we have further ambition for the future, and we're deliberately rolling out access to GP systems to make sure that pharmacists can enter information into it, and that's what Choose Pharmacy is designed to help to deliver: access to information so that it's available, and that will then allow us to provide even more services in the community pharmacy sector.