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Community Pharmacy England (CPE) chief executive Janet Morrison has warned Labour ahead of the start of its party conference on Sunday that “pushing more work onto already stretched” pharmacies “without proper support will undermine existing core services”.

In a blog published on Friday, Morrison said community pharmacy was ideally placed to help shift the NHS’s focus from treatment to prevention and insisted there was “clear scope” to expand the sector’s role “beyond traditional dispensing”.

She cited the risk of cardiovascular disease, women’s health, obesity and medicines optimisation as areas of clinical pharmacy practice the Government could build on.

Morrison insisted pharmacies should be established “as a permanent fixture of national vaccination infrastructure, expanding into areas like childhood flu and HPV catch-ups” and suggested the potential was there “within the current contract” to maximise other existing pharmacy services.

But she stressed the “right investment” must be in place if pharmacies are to relieve pressure on GPs through an expanded Pharmacy First and independent prescribing.

The NHS will be one of the central topics discussed at Labour’s four-day conference in Liverpool, including addressing issues around workforce.

“One of the biggest risks facing community pharmacy now is the prospect of being asked to take on additional clinical responsibilities, expanded vaccination schemes, and digital integrations without the necessary funding, workforce or operational capacity,” Morrison wrote.

“Pushing more work onto already stretched teams without proper support will only undermine existing core services.”

Morrison also warned that “as commissioning becomes increasingly localised around neighbourhoods”, there was a risk pharmacies could face “a postcode lottery” where “opportunities vary depending on the pace and quality of local healthcare decision-making”.

“We will need to demonstrate our value alongside general practice and other local providers, underscoring that funding for community pharmacy is a route to safeguard the entirety of primary care and the wider NHS, by alleviating cost and system pressures elsewhere,” she wrote.

Morrison insisted CPE will take its “strong” case for greater Government investment in community pharmacy to Labour’s conference when pharmacy’s negotiator will “no doubt learn more about this Government’s policy thinking and goals”.

“To deliver the Government’s ambitions for neighbourhood care, prevention, and shifting activity out of acute hospitals, sustained investment and integration in pharmacy infrastructure, IT, premises, and training is a non-negotiable,” Morrison wrote.

“We will continue to make this point, and to champion the sector as an essential partner in building a healthier, more sustainable health service.”