The announcement by NHS England that it will fund 180 pharmacists and 60 pharmacy technicians to work in care homes has been welcomed by Sandra Gidley, chair of the RPS England board. The overstretched NHS is crying out for solutions and this one is bang on target, she says.

“This significant investment of £20 million by NHS England from the Pharmacy Integration Fund…recognises that pharmacy teams can provide better health outcomes for care home residents, improve efficiency and reduce medicines waste.

“This is a great start and we would encourage NHS England to go even further and give pharmacists overall responsibility for medicines and their use in care homes. This will drive up standards of patient safety and cut the estimated annual £24 million of medicines wasted in care homes every year.”

Information will be made available in due course on the NHS England website about the application process.