Medicines Policy Series Roundtable One: The Role of Medicines in the 10-Year Plan

It's time to stop viewing pharmacy as a simple transaction and start recognising it as afoundational pillar of modern healthcare. This was one of the central messages of the

first roundtable of the UK Medicine Policy series hosted by the Global Policy Network

(GPN) on June 25, 2025. The roundtable brought together colleagues from the NHS,

industry, the Commonwealth, and international health systems, fostering the

cross-sector dialogue essential for transformative change. It was chaired by Yousaf

Ahmad, Chief Pharmacist at Frimley Health and Care ICS. This roundtable was

attended by 31 participants, representing a broad mix of organisations across the health

and care landscape, including NHS England, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), Primary

Care Networks (PCNs), Hospital Trusts, consultancies and community pharmacy bodies

(Figure 1).

Figure 1: Participants organisational background

The 90-minute roundtable gathered a diverse spectrum of individuals to explore a

single, pressing objective: how to fully leverage the transformative role of pharmacy to

realise the ambitions of the NHS 10-Year Plan. The session was aimed at moving

beyond recognition to action, examining the concrete ways pharmacy can ensure the

plan's successful implementation.

The discussion set out a strategic vision centred on three critical transitions for the

future of health: from treatment to prevention, from acute to community-based care, and

from analogue to digital infrastructure. Pharmacy is uniquely positioned to support all

three of these shifts. However, to unlock this full potential, longstanding systemic,

cultural, and operational barriers must be urgently addressed. The panel stressed that

pharmacy must no longer be seen as a peripheral service, but repositioned as a

foundational pillar of integrated care.

The roundtable yielded several critical insights necessary to make this new vision a

reality. A central theme was the need for profound leadership and culture change,

embedding pharmacy leaders at every level, from communities to system boards – as a

strategic imperative.

This requires elevating the role of pharmacy professionals themselves. Participants

called for empowering them to practise "at the top of their licence", with more

prescribers actively prescribing. Achieving these demands targeted education both

within the profession and among healthcare peers to champion the pharmacist's

expanded role.

Crucially, this empowerment must be supported by seamless digital integration.

Pharmacy professionals require direct access to patient health records to ensure

continuity of care, underpinned by robust data literacy and interoperability. Addressing

digital fragmentation through a national platform or full NHS app integration was

deemed essential.

Furthermore, a central point of agreement was the urgent need to break down

professional silos between community, primary, and secondary care is vital. Effective

collaboration across these boundaries will optimise patient outcomes and unify local

services. As one Pharmacy Consultant asserted, “We have got to stop thinking in silos

and start collaborating pretty quickly.” This requires pharmacy professionals across

acute, community, and commissioning roles to move beyond segmented responsibilities

and actively co-design integrated, patient-centred models of care. Finally, all these

efforts must converge on a fundamental shift to patient-centred care, moving from a

paternalistic model to one of genuine patient empowerment and shared

decision-making.

Despite strong momentum, significant hurdles remain. Participants identified persistent

financial and supply chain constraints, geographic inequities in access, and critical gaps

in data management and literacy as key barriers to progress.

Participants offered practical recommendations to close these gaps. The discussion

revealed a collective call to reassess not only how the frontline pharmacy is defined and supported, but also what should be deprioritised to enable long-term success.

Amid the ambitious vision, attendees also sounded a note of caution, particularly

regarding the overextension of community pharmacy. A striking example was

highlighted by a Pharmacy Consultant, who stated, “those with community pharmacy

contracts have got to stop saying yes to everything... a lot of services out there... are not

really fit for purpose.” This underscores a critical need to empower community

pharmacists with a clear strategic focus and the ability to decline poorly commissioned

services, safeguarding both the quality of patient care and the long-term sustainability of

their businesses.

This theme of strategic implementation was directly echoed in the critical discussion on

readiness for independent prescribing. While participants agreed on its importance as a

necessary step for the profession, they voiced serious concerns that the current system

is not yet prepared. They pointed out that without a robust, practical infrastructure,

including standardised training, protected learning time, sustainable funding, and strong

leadership. For independent prescribing to truly succeed, the rollout must be backed by

the support system needed to develop confident, high-quality prescribers at scale.

A Head of Clinical Services and Chief Pharmacist reflected, “You can prescribe very

confidently, until you make your first mistake,” highlighting the emotional weight and

professional risk that comes with unsupported clinical responsibility.

In conclusion, the roundtable firmly established that pharmacy is pivotal to delivering the

core ambitions of the NHS 10-Year Plan: prevention, community-based care, and digital

transformation. Yet, its potential remains constrained by entrenched silos, underutilised

skills, and fragmented infrastructure.

The path forward is clear. Pharmacy must be repositioned as a core pillar of integrated

care, equipped with interoperable digital systems, empowered leadership at all

governance levels, and a workforce enabled to work to its full potential. This requires a

fundamental cultural shift to break down professional barriers and align commissioning

with frontline realities.

Without this decisive action, pharmacy risks remaining a peripheral service. To meet the

demands of the coming decade, the NHS must now prioritise the sustained leadership

and targeted investment needed to position pharmacy as the driving force for a more

accessible, preventative, and patient-centred future.

Why this report was needed and timely:

As the NHS moves to deliver the 10-Year Plan, there is an immediate need for a consolidated, cross-sector view focused on implementation. This report focuses its analysis on real world practice and proposes concrete levers that go beyond what the Darzi Review and Pharmacy First cover.

Through its connected programme of reports, roundtables, and podcasts, the Global

Policy Network (GPN) is fostering a vital, ongoing dialogue on the future of pharmacy.

Our commitment is to ensure these insights translate into practical recommendations

that shape NHS policy and practice in real and lasting ways.

As part of this mission, the UK Medicines Policy Series continues to bridge the gap

between ambition and real-world implementation. The conversation will progress in our

upcoming Roundtable 2 report and Roundtable 6, which will tackle a critical next step:

How can we develop and integrate the pharmacy workforce within Primary Care

Networks to create pharmacy-enabled neighbourhood teams? These teams are

essential for delivering the integrated, holistic care required for patients with complex

conditions like cardiovascular-renal-metabolic disease and obesity, finally turning the

vision of a truly patient-centred system into a reality.