MPs call for obesity to be included in community pharmacy contract

The Commons all-party pharmacy group has called for the new community pharmacists contract to incorporate a public health role, with particular emphasis on obesity and weight-management services.

In its report Community Pharmacy: tackling obesity, published this week, the group said initiatives should also be developed to raise public awareness of the role that community pharmacies can play in providing advice and information on obesity and other public health issues.

The report says that 'for the most part, the valuable contribution that pharmacists can make [on obesity] is not related to providing medicines; it is their ability to reach a large number of people with expert advice and information'.

The report claims community pharmacies are in a 'unique position' because they are 'the most accessible and visited part of the NHS family', and that in developing the government's public health strategy - in particular its plans for tackling obesity - 'this is an important consideration'.

The report also calls for community pharmacists to have access to electronic patient records.