CCA Statement: Health and Social Care Committee Report on workforce recruitment and retention

The Health and Social Care Committee has today issued a report on workforce recruitment into the recruitment and retention of the health and social care workforce. Amongst other things, the Committee recommend that the Government publish a funded and integrated workforce plan for pharmacy.

A separate Expert Panel report of the Committee highlights the CCA’s concerns around the recruitment of pharmacists into Primary Care Networks directly from community settings.

Malcolm Harrison, CEO of the CCA said:

“Today’s Health and Social Care Committee report is yet another reminder that the entire healthcare system is suffering from recruitment and retention challenges – and that community pharmacy is not immune. We wholeheartedly support the Committee’s call for a funded and integrated workforce plan – something that the CCA has advocated for some time, and it must be published without delay.

We also agree the plan must account for the onset of all newly qualified pharmacists eventually becoming independent prescribers. Greater opportunities must also be granted for independent prescribers in community settings, to utilise their newly acquired skills. As the report highlights, pharmacies can only do more if they are able to access the funding and investment they need.

We also thank the Expert Panel report for highlighting the staffing challenges in community pharmacy and in particular the recruitment of pharmacists from community settings directly into Primary Care Networks.”