CCA Calls For More Collaboration With Pharmacy To Address Health Inequalities, UK

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 26 Jun 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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The CCA welcomed the Department of Health and Association of Public Health Observatories announcement that they would be providing every local authority and region with additional information to help them to monitor health inequalities.

Georgina Craig, Commissioning Lead for the CCA comments:

"Addressing health inequalities remains a pressing priority for NHS commissioners. As Choosing health through Pharmacy3 identified in 2005, there are huge opportunities to make more effective use of the pharmacies that are central to health care provision in deprived spearhead areas. Despite this and PCT freedoms to commission pharmacy services in line with local need, nowhere near enough commissioners have grasped the opportunity to build on the pharmacy contract and support, for example, pharmacy-based smoking cessation, or public health initiatives aimed at families with young children in deprived areas - interventions that would begin to close these gaps.

This is a missed opportunity. The CCA hopes that the increased emphasis within world class commissioning on health inequalities and the availability of this new dataset will ensure PCT commissioners revisit their current commissioning intentions and work much more collaboratively with pharmacy."

Notes

1. The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) provides a forum for its member companies to work together to create an environment where community pharmacy can flourish, and where contractors compete in a fair and equitable way. Our nine members - Boots, The Co-operative pharmacy, Lloydspharmacy, Tesco, J Sainsbury, Wm Morrison Supermarkets, Asda Wal-Mart, Rowlands Pharmacy and Superdrug operate over 6,000 pharmacies - more than 50% of all the pharmacies in the United Kingdom.

2. This press release was issued in response to Department of Health press releases Wake-up call on health inequalities, issued Monday 23 June and Health secretary 's goal to tackle health inequalities 09 June 2008, available at http://nds.coi.gov.uk

3. Choosing health through pharmacy identified the opportunity for pharmacies in deprived areas to become central to local service provision in areas of deprivation. A full copy is available at http://www.dh.gov.uk

Company Chemists' Association