Prescription for Excellence - the future of pharmaceutical care: vision and plan

Foreword

Alex Neil MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing

Our 2020 Vision for Health and Social Care sets out our ambitions that by the year 2020 everyone in Scotland is able to live longer healthier lives at home, or in a homely setting.

It strives for a healthcare system where we have integrated health and social care, a focus on prevention, anticipation and supported self-management. When hospital treatment is required, and cannot be provided in a community setting, day case treatment will be the norm.

Whatever the setting, care will be provided to the highest standards of quality and safety, with the person at the centre of all decisions. There will be a focus on ensuring that people get back into their home or community environment as soon as appropriate, with minimal risk of re-admission.

The Vision and Action Plan set out in this document reaffirms the contribution of the pharmacist and the pharmaceutical care they provide in our future healthcare system. It builds on the direction of travel of our progressive and developing policy landscape for high quality, sustainable health and social care, and the comprehensive study on NHS pharmaceutical care undertaken by Dr Hamish Wilson and Professor Nick Barber last year.

Importantly, the Vision and Action Plan recognises that the integrated delivery of care, as set out in the 2020 Vision Route Map, will require the delivery of NHS pharmaceutical care to adapt new and innovative models to facilitate professional independence of pharmacists, working in collaborative partnerships with other health and social care professionals and the third sector to deliver the best possible health outcomes for patients from their medicines.

Consistent with the ambitions of the Quality Strategy and 2020 Vision, our overriding objective is that all patients, regardless of their age and setting of care, will receive high quality pharmaceutical care using the clinical skills of the pharmacist to their full potential. This Vision and Action Plan recognises the continuing and important role of pharmacists located in our communities and high streets across Scotland, and considers their future relationship with other local healthcare provision. This will be crucial for future service planning in remote and rural areas and in our most deprived communities.

Over the years, NHS pharmaceutical care in Scotland has attracted a well-earned UK and international reputation for innovative models of care. Our Vision and Action Plan aims to keep Scotland at the forefront of innovation and high quality pharmaceutical care, and its contribution towards our shared goal of world-leading healthcare.

I am grateful to all those who contributed to the review conducted by Dr Wilson and Professor Barber, and look forward to your continued support and engagement as we develop and implement the key actions underpinning our Vision.