Medicine and Health National Health Services (NHS) England

Question: Describe about the Essay for Medicine and Health of National Health Services (NHS) England? Answer: The National Health Services (NHS) England is the publicly funded system of healthcare. It is fundamentally funded by the general taxation system, and the Department of Health provides health care services to all residents of the United Kingdom (2). Pharmacies are an important part of healthcare services, and there are 10475 community pharmacies in England as per the report of 2009. Total funding in 2010-2011 for community pharmacy was 2.49 billion pounds. Out of this 0.5 billion was the profit of pharmacies as reported by the Department of Health (3). Community pharmacies provide necessary services, like disposal of medicines, health promotion, dispensing, lifestyle advice, support for self-care, and directing to other services. A pharmacy also provides advanced services as long as the premises and the working pharmacist are accredited. In the context of the adverse funding scenario in present times, there is a need to take up actions for improving and sustaining patient services (4 ). With this aspect of the significance of pharmacies in community healthcare and adverse funding situations, the present writing is the advice to the Director General of the NHS that encompasses the ways to mobilise community pharmacies. The number of pharmacies has risen to 11,600 pharmacies in England in the year 2015. 1 billion prescriptions are dispensed in pharmacies every year. Out of these pharmacies, 48% are chain retailers with 100 and above stores, 39% are independent pharmacies, and 13% are chain retailers having 6 to 99 stores (6). As per the recent reports, the ministry is about the slashed funding of pharmacies in order to reduce the number of pharmacies. The pharmacies have been relying on the NHS for their majority income. The ministry plans to impose a 170 million pound cut for high street stores in October 2016. This decision is purely short-sighted and has the potential to deprive the majority of the vulnerable patients who are in the need of trusted health services. However, the government contradicts that the number of pharmacies has grown in an inappropriate manner, and there is no additional benefits of this huge number of pharmacies. This leads to the decision that around 2000 pharmacies can b e closed during a budget reduction in this year. The United Kingdom is at an important point where NHS is developing. This draws the attention of the concerned authority to address the issues faced in recent health care scenario. The NHS needs recommendations to mobilise community pharmacies (5). The first aspect that is to be mentioned in this regard is that pharmacy must be at the heart of the NHS. There lies real potential for greater use of community pharmacy in supporting healthy living and prevention of ill health. For having desirable pharmacy practices, there is a need to have clinically focused services in community pharmacy. This will give relief to the pressure on general physicians and emergency departments. It will also ensure that there is an optimal use of medicines, better patient outcomes and better value. Seven-day health care would be delivered in this manner (7). One good approach would be to add clinical pharmacists in general physician practices. This will promote pharmacists and pharmacies in the short-term. This must be taken further, and pharmacy must be brought closer to the wider primary care. Pharmacists are to bring the skills they have to more of general practices and must use the opportunities for improving and protecting the health of the common people. Alignment must be made with emerging models of care. There is a need of having a funding discussion with the community pharmacy sector on how to introduce the best funding for transforming community pharmacies operating in the NHS for bringing clear and distinct benefits to the public (8). Community pharmacies must play its role in delivering the efficiencies needed by the government to support the required productivity and efficiency. NHS must make sure that the community pharmacies that the people depend upon must continue to thrive. The NHS must put in more funds to certain pharmacies in comparison to others and this regard they must take into consideration factors like health needs of the population and location of the community. The NHS must also put up consultations on how to appropriately drive innovative models of making orders of prescriptions and collect medicines disposed of. All pharmacies must be allowed to have access to the efficiency put forward by the hub and spoke dispensing. Legislative changes would lower the operating costs and allow the pharmacies to provide more public health services and clinical services. Views and opinions of the pharmacy sector are welcome on deciding on how to support patient services and efficiency by innovative arrangement s. Effectiveness can be enhanced without compromising on the service quality. Pharmacies must not be in clusters and all communities must be having access to pharmacies. The advancements of large-scale automated dispensing arrangements would also provide opportunities, and it would maintain public access while pursuing efficiencies (1). As indicated, the budget for pharmacy is about to be reduced. Reduction in funding will take place from 2016. There is a desire to work closely with the community pharmacies to deliver high quality care to the patients. at the same time, there is a desire to retain good access to services in pharmaceuticals by online services and local community pharmacies. This would support the transformation of present pharmacy practices to a community pharmacy that is more clinically focussed. This would integrate with primary care. Pharmacists would have a more prominent role across the NHS. Opportunities are to be exploited for improving and protecting the health of the people. The consultation process is a vital opportunity to help developments and inform the decisions taken up by the department of health. This would shape the role of pharmacy in NHS in future. The main would always remain to give benefits to the public. References gov.uk. [Internet]. 2016 [cited 24 February 2016]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486941/letter-psnc.pdf england.nhs.uk. [Internet]. 2016 [cited 24 February 2016]. Available from: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/comm-pharm-better-quality-resilient-urgent-care.pdf Todd A, Copeland A, Husband A, Kasim A, Bambra C. 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