New Tool for Contacting Your MP

The All-Party Pharmacy Group (APPG) have developed a new tool to allow contractors and pharmacy teams to contact their local MP’s about pharmacy developments, and encourage them to support the sector and APPG.

Process: Input your postcode to find your local MP, and then input your details to then send an email. The tool provides you with a template that includes all the necessary information, however you can further personalise this is if you have further additions.

Access the tool here.

MP Engagement Update 2023

In February, GMLPC wrote to all MPs to encourage them to sign a joint letter to Health Secretary, Steve Barclay MP detailing their growing concern about the pressures facing England’s community pharmacies. A total of 39 MPs have signed the letter, including Andrew Western MP from Greater Manchester (Stretford and Urmston). We would like to extend our thanks to Andrew for his support.

We have also written to MPs on 10 occasions since last year in order to outline the challenges within community pharmacy and request their support. To date we have attended a meeting with James Daly MP (Bury North) Barbara Keeley MP (Worsley and Eccles South) has also written a letter on behalf of community pharmacy. We would like to take this opportunity to thank both James and Barbara for their engagement.

Furthermore, in November 2022 we sent an email to all MPs inviting them to PSNC Hypertension Event. We are pleased to announce that Christian Wakeford, Afzal Khan and Barbara Keeley attended the event.

We are grateful to you all for your time and support!

MP Engagement – Template Letter – Community Pharmacy Pressures and Request for Urgent Support

Now is the time for us to stand together and ask MPs to deliver the support our vital sector needs!

In order to support contractors to do this, GMLPC have created a template letter which can be used when writing to your local MP. Click the link below to view and download the MP template letter.

Within the letter, please outline your own experience during the pandemic and beyond including any  including any challenges faced and support you need to maintain your long term viability.

MP letter template for contractors (2023) 

In order to further support contractor engagement with MPs, GMLPC have also collated contact details of all MPs in Greater Manchester constituencies.

When sending the letter, feel free to copy in (Cc) GMLPC (enquiries@gmlpc.org.uk) into your email should you wish to.

PSNC have also compiled further support and resources to use when contacting your own MP. Click here to view these

MP Engagement with GMLPC

🚨GMLPC are acutely aware of the significant pressures many of you are facing. At this critical time, we are committed to supporting you and have been working hard to engage with MPs across Greater Manchester and encourage them to support our cause.

Please be assured that we have and will continue to regularly write to all MPs across Greater Manchester highlighting the excellent work carried out by our contractors and requested support to tackle the issues faced in community pharmacies.

Below we have outlined other key engagement work that has taken place over the past few years in order to support you.

May 2020 – At the start of the pandemic we wrote to all MPs in order to highlight how Community pharmacies have been working tirelessly to ensure the public can get the medicines and healthcare support that they desperately need as the COVID-19 outbreak took hold across the country. GMLPC requested that they  lend their support to the national campaign, #pharmacyheroes.  We also raised concerns about the additional funding, PPE and Covid testing needed in order to ensure pharmacies can continue to serve patients at this time.

We received responses from Sir Graham Brady MP (Altrincham and Sale West) and James Grundy MP (Leigh) which acknowledged the issues and discussed how MPs are working hard for NHS workers.

June 2020 – Following this communication, a meeting was set up with James Grundy MP (Leigh) who accepted our offer to meet and discuss these issues further.  This meeting included discussions around lack of IT, concerns around the pharmacy contract. After the meeting James agreed to write to the secretary of state to raise key issues on our behalf.

December 2020 – Sir Graham Brady MP showed further support for our cause and wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Social Care on your behalf.

February and March 2021 – PSNC hosted MP briefing events for Labour and Conservative MPs in order to provide them with an introduction to pharmacy and showcase what they have been doing to support your constituents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  GMLPC worked with PSNC to help communicate event details to MPs in Greater Manchester and encourage their attendance.

March 2021 – GMLPC encouraged all contractors to contact their local MP to ensure we support the national effort to raise key issues with the Chancellor, the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, urging their financial support for NHS community pharmacies.

In order to support this effort, we produced a template letter for contractors to use when writing to MPs and shared a document including key statistics on Community Pharmacy During the Covid-19 Pandemic.

May 2021 – GMLPC wrote to MPs to share exciting developments regarding the rollout of GPCPCS in Greater Manchester, the benefits of this service and how pharmacies can help general practice through use of the GP CPCS referral pathway. We also requested that MP’s use their own network and social media channels to further cascade these successes in our sector.

November 2021 – GMLPC wrote to all MPs to encourage their attendance to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) virtual pharmacy event discussing how to make the most of pharmacy in primary care and unleash the potential of pharmacy in new ICS. At this time we also asked for support in ensuring that pharmacy is represented at the Integrated Care Board, Integrated Care Partnership and Local Place based boards to ensure we can continue to engage and support Primary Care’s resilience and capacity.

February 2022 – GMLPC wrote to all MPs to encourage their attendance to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) virtual pharmacy event discussing recruitment, retention and professional development.

March 2022 – We co-hosted a regional MP briefing session with PSNC. All MPs were encouraged to attend in order to hear about all of the extraordinary work Pharmacy teams have been doing over the course of the pandemic and the positive impact that they are having, the current challenges we face and also how the Government can support us to manage these challenges and further support our patients and local communities.  A representative from Mary Robinson MP (Cheadle) attended and a discussion was had with them to raise awareness of pressures.

At this time key concerns about workforce, the impact of mental health, lack of funding and abuse faced by pharmacy staff was also highlighted. MPs also received a summary of the findings from PSNC’s Advice Audit 2021 and a report written by PSNC in response to the APPG pharmacy inquiry.

April 2022 – GMLPC followed up with all MPs that were unable to attend the Regional briefing session in order to highlight the key issues faced in the sector and invite them to meet with GMLPC outside of the organised session to discuss the significant pressures faced within the community pharmacy sector and identify solutions for our contractors to ensure the future sustainability of our much needed Community Pharmacy network.

Following on from this, we wrote to all MPs to encourage their attendance to All-Party Parliamentary Group’s (APPG) third virtual pharmacy event of the year which would discuss How Local Pharmacies Can Help: From patient safety to diagnosis.

June 2022 – We wrote to all MPs in order to encourage attendance to a parliamentary drop in event relating to how to Help Your Local Pharmacies Bust the NHS Backlog. At this time we emphasised the need for government investment in the sector as a matter of urgency. Publications written by PSNC and the daily mail in relation to the increased workload faced were also shared to demonstrate the pressure we are facing.

August 2022 – GMLPC highlighted how pharmacy teams went above and beyond during the pandemic to ensure access to vital patient care and are now in need of support due to significant workforce and funding challenges including no significant fee rises in the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) for five years.

In additional this GMLPC produced an infographic in order to raise the public’s awareness of these challenges and encourage their support and understanding at this time. We requested that MPs help to support our cause by sharing the image via their own social media platforms.

October 2022 – We wrote to all MPs to invite them to the NHS blood pressure check parliamentary event hosted by PSNC in which this new service would be demonstrated. We are pleased to announce that Christian Wakeford MP, Afzal Khan MP and Barbara Keeley MP attended the event.

November 2022 – A virtual meeting was set up with James Daly MP (Bury North). Following this James requested that a list of questions are drawn up which he will then put to parliament in order to get some answers in relation to the key pressures being faced in pharmacies and how to government plans to help address these.

February 2023 – GMLPC wrote to all MPs to encourage them to sign a joint letter to Health Secretary, Steve Barclay MP detailing their growing concern about the pressures facing England’s community pharmacies. A total of 39 MPs have signed the letter, including Andrew Western MP from Greater Manchester (Stretford and Urmston). We would like to extend our thanks to Andrew for his support. Barbara Keeley MP (Worsley and Eccles South) has also written a letter on behalf of community pharmacy as she was unable to sign the joint letter

We also wrote to all MPs in order to highlight the urgency with which the lack of funding in the sector needs to be addressed. This communication was accompanied by links to a briefing produced by PSNC around the critical pressure on pharmacy services and a report published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group in January 2023 which calls for “urgent action” to deliver on the potential of pharmacy teams and relieve significant funding and workforce pressures.

We would like to thank you all for your support and engagement with GMLPC.

Find your MP

If you are unsure about who your MP is view the list below or visit to the UK parliament website and enter your postcode.

Further resources for MP engagement

Pharmacy funding capacity briefing APPG for pharmacy

PSNC 4 point Action Plan – securing the future of Community Pharmacy

APPG The future of Pharmacy: Manifesto Report

Your Local MP’s

Save our Pharmacies