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The Government has been warned that  there is little capacity in primary care to deliver the reforms the NHS needs, and improve the care people receive closer to home, without further investment in the sector.

Following on from last week’s Spending Review announcement, Community Pharmacy England has joined other national primary care bodies to reiterate its call on government to prioritise DHSC spending allocations towards primary care.

“The decision regarding allocations within the DHSC budget is the single opportunity in this Parliamentary cycle to transform investment into primary care. Of the 1.5million patients treated by the NHS each day, over three quarters of these interactions take place within the primary care setting: their sole NHS experience,” the joint statement says.

The statement notes that the Department of Health’s number one priority is to shift care from hospitals to community, and move from sickness to prevention. “Primary care providers will be instrumental in driving this reform and are enthusiastic about working together to support these critical shifts.

“However, due to the pressures all parts of primary care are facing due to an historic focus on specialist settings, bureaucracy, and poor workforce planning by NHS England – as well as funding cuts to some of our sectors – it is clear there is little capacity to deliver the reforms needed,” the statement says.

As well as CPE, the joint statement was signed by the General Practitioner’s Committee England, the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee, the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee and the National Association for Primary Care Audiology Providers.

CPE says it is briefing MPs, asking them to raise the need for primary care to be fully resourced in upcoming Parliamentary debates. This is alongside raising the need for a long-term sustainable funding and operational model for community pharmacies.