Embedding Community Pharmacy Within Neighbourhood Health Systems

As a part of its UK Medicines Policy Series, Global Policy Network hosted a roundtable in May 2026 where pharmacists, academics and other leading figures in the pharmaceutical industry came together to tackle an important task: how to integrate community pharmacy more effectively within neighbourhood health teams to ensure their distinct strengths are better utilised in support of the wider UK health system. The resulting report sheds light on the significant barriers that community pharmacy face in neighbourhood health structures, the complexities that must be navigated to implement impactful solutions, and the potential of fully embedding community pharmacies into our health system.

Community Pharmacy and its Unique Value to the NHS

In their 10-year plan to modernise the healthcare system, the UK government announces its intention to radically shift the NHS from a hospital-centric form of care to one that is integrated and accessible within our communities. Given their accessibility and regular contact with diverse communities, community pharmacies are distinctly well positioned to serve as critical access points into the broader NHS and bring care into our local neighbourhoods. This is especially the case for groups who might otherwise remain disengaged from mainstream health services, including communities experiencing higher levels of deprivation, language barriers, low health literacy, limited digital confidence. As highly trusted and embedded community assets, community pharmacies can play a central role in addressing health inequalities and acting as a point of entry for individuals who otherwise wouldn’t engage with the UK health system. More effective integration of community pharmacy within neighbourhood health systems would strengthen equitable access to care and alleviate pressure on general practice by enabling pharmacy teams to manage appropriate clinical demand, thereby allowing GPs to dedicate more time to patients with complex needs.

The systemic challenges ahead

However, the obstacles to effective integration of community pharmacy within neighbourhood health structures are multi-layered. Participants in the roundtable identified several of these obstacles, while also recognising they could not be overcome through the expansion of pharmacy services. These obstacles include:

Misconceptions and misunderstandings around community pharmacy 

Community pharmacy is currently being viewed solely as an alternative point of access or additional source of capacity when other parts of the health system are under pressure, having its contribution assessed only in terms of service activity or appointments delivered. There are the misconceptions about community pharmacy that restrict referrals, reduce professional confidence and has resulted in community pharmacy being excluded from neighbourhood planning. Additionally, many healthcare professionals, system leaders and members of the public have a limited understanding of the current capabilities of community pharmacy, including the expanding role of pharmacist independent prescribers and pharmacy technicians.

Existing contractual and commissioning agreements

Existing contractual and commissioning agreements are frequently cited as encouraging competition rather than collaboration between organisations. Many funding mechanisms reward activity delivered within individual organisational or professional boundaries, meaning that they operate within contractual environments that encourage competition over activity, funding and patient pathways. Providers therefore perceive each other as financial or operational threats, making referrals and information-sharing less likely to become embedded in routine practice.

Lack of appropriate infrastructure for integration

The lack of appropriate channels for community pharmacy teams to communicate with other professionals, to have access to relevant patient information, clear referral routes and mechanisms for contributing to shared decisions. The absence of interoperable records was repeatedly identified as a major barrier, particularly as community pharmacy takes on a greater role in prescribing, minor illness management, prevention and long-term condition support.

Lack of leadership capabilities

The lack of development for capabilities in coordination, representation and leadership in community pharmacy has meant that it remains underrepresented in strategic discussions. This underrepresentation has led to limitations in the ability of neighbourhood systems to understand pharmacy capacity, to incorporate pharmacy intelligence and to design viable pathways. 

Structural change is necessary, with an approach that treats community pharmacy as a core partner in neighbourhood health that should be included in shared planning and decision-making. 

What is needed to make the difference

Repositioning community pharmacy would require significant changes in formal governance, contractual and financial arrangements, information-sharing, communication pathways. For neighbourhood health systems to function effectively, they must operate as coherent, coordinated networks that integrate community pharmacies according to their distinct capabilities and the requirements of local populations.

The detail to these solutions, and the recommendations directed specifically towards policymakers and leaders in the industry, are presented in this report. National reforms, such as Pharmacy First, the rollout of independent prescribing, and the growing policy emphasis on delivering integrated place-based care closer to local communities, have elevated the importance of neighbourhood health teams within the current efforts to transform the NHS. By making further action to embed community pharmacy within this neighbourhood health system, stakeholders will be making the next significant step in this transformation.

Each stakeholder will need to act, by:

• Healthcare Policymakers – establishing a national neighbourhood health framework which clearly defines the roles, responsibilities and accountability of all organisations operating within integrated neighbourhood teams, including community pharmacy.

• ICBs and Local Health System Leaders – ensuring that community pharmacies are fully embedded within neighbourhood governance and planning, by using network mapping tools to identify areas where they are not meaningfully included

• Pharmacy leaders, ICSs and wider system partners – investing in leadership development and establishing dedicated integration roles to facilitate communication across organisational boundaries

• NHS and ICB digital leaders – prioritising interoperable digital infrastructure (with access to shared patient records and the ability to contribute to clinical documentation) that enables secure, bidirectional information sharing

• Royal College of Pharmacy – advocating for professional representation and standards that allow pharmacists to maximise their full potential, while collaborating with NHS organisations, higher education and system leaders to strengthen leadership capability

• Policymakers and Commissioners – develop joint provider contracting models across neighbourhood systems and integrated commissioning and contracting models that encourage collaboration

  
  

Community pharmacy provides the path to significantly improve prevention, early intervention, long-term management of conditions and ongoing medicines optimisation in the neighbourhood health system. All that is needed is coordinated investment in the design of the neighbourhood health system, the development of the workforce and their leadership capabilities, and improved representation of one of the most readily accessible components of its framework. With this, community pharmacies can be effectively embedded into the system, and their potential benefit can be realised. The full report clearly presents the significance of such potential benefit, to the long-term plans for the NHS and for the local communities of the UK. 

Read the full report at www.globalpolicynetwork.com/reports