MLAs form new group at Stormont to highlight role played by Community Pharmacy teams
MLAs form new group at Stormont to highlight role played by Community Pharmacy teams
Stormont MLAs have formed a new All Party Group to raise awareness of the role played by community pharmacists and their teams in Northern Ireland.
The group will be chaired by South Antrim MLA, Pam Cameron and will meet regularly to discuss the issues facing community pharmacists working in local communities across Northern Ireland.
At the group’s inaugural meeting, MLAs strongly condemned the recent attack on a female community pharmacist working in South Belfast last week.
Chair of the All Party Group, Pam Cameron MLA said:
“We are really pleased to be able to bring forward an All Party Group on Community Pharmacy at Stormont. This group is important because it will highlight the hugely important role played by community pharmacists in our local communities.
“Community pharmacists have been on the front line of delivering highly accessible services to patients during this pandemic, but their expertise should be always valued, even after we emerge from Covid. It has become clear to me and my MLA colleagues that there is a greater role for community pharmacists beyond Covid and this group will explore and raise awareness of that.
“On behalf of the new group, I would also like to reiterate our condemnation of the despicable attack on a community pharmacist in Belfast just last week. It is appalling that front line workers like community pharmacists are assaulted as they diligently carry out their duties, helping people who need them. Attacks on frontline workers are completely unjustifiable and we send our best wishes to the pharmacists involved in this attack.”
Chief Executive of CPNI, Gerard Greene said:
“We are thrilled to see an All Party Group established on Community Pharmacy at Stormont. In the past year, it is fair to say that community pharmacy teams have gone beyond the call of duty to continue to provide open and accessible services to patients who need their advice and support.
“Community pharmacy is ready and willing to do more and be a key part of how we transform our health service to cope with increasing demands on it. Working with MLAs at Stormont, we hope to be able to demonstrate the value of investing in community pharmacy services, making it part and parcel of health service transformation and ensuring that people can get access to us when they need us.
“Community pharmacy is often referred to as the front door of the health service and is not appointment led, meaning that the public have immediate access to professional advice when they need it. Over 123,000 people visit pharmacies in Northern Ireland every day. This in turn helps keep people out of GP surgeries and hospitals.
“The sector is also very keen to play a role in the Covid vaccination programme as soon as possible and look forward to that becoming a reality in the coming weeks as we work together to fight this pandemic and protect the most vulnerable.”
