ICB/ICS Development & Medicines Strategy Forum – 18th September 2025
PM Healthcare’s recent conference at the Royal College of GPs in London: ICB/ICS Development & Medicines Strategy Forum provided an excellent opportunity for pharmacists, technicians and other healthcare professionals to gather together and participate in expert presentations, debates and to consider the future of pharmacy in a time of fast-moving change in the NHS.
The Forum opened with an insightful plenary discussion titled: The Future for Pharmacy in the New Restructured NHS in England – What we know and the opportunity to lead on medicines use.
On the panel were Ewan Maule (Clinical Director & Chief Pharmacist, Northeast and North Cumbria ICB) and Vanessa Burgess (ICB Chief Pharmacist, NHS Southeast London ICB) who discussed the latest indications for pharmacy following recent and ongoing reforms, including Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England.
The plenary session generated a considerable number of important questions from the audience, not all of which could be answered in the available time. These questions were subsequently put to our panellists who have now answered them in full.
Their extensive and informative answers include:
- Establishing a stronger presence in NHS leadership & strategic discussions
- Changing the culture and collaboration
- Hospital pharmacy and the 10 Year Plan
- Pharma industry investment in the UK and access new medicines
- Pharmacy First the next five years
- Funding for new pathways
- Community pharmacy independent prescribers and raising the profile of the sector
- How to make UK viable for the health sciences industry and pharma
- AI and technology
In our second panel discussion of the Forum: Neighbourhood Health – What it means for pharmacy across all NHS sectors, our panel of experts discussed the impact of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan’s introduction of Neighbourhood Health.
On the panel were Nick Merrifield (GP Partner; PCN Clinical Director; Deputy Clinical Director at Place, New Malden & Worcester Park PCN; SWL ICS), Lelly Oboh (Clinical & Care Professional Lead, Overprescribing, SEL ICB Consultant Pharmacist, Older People, Guys & St Thomas NHS Trust, SEL ICB), and Ankish Patel (English Pharmacy Board Member, RPS).
They explored the deeper understanding of what Integrated Neighbourhood Health will mean and its potential impact across all sectors of pharmacy. Again, the session led to a wide-ranging discussion and many questions, the answering of which outran the time available. Our panellists have now been able to consider and answer these.
Areas of interest answered by the panel include:
- Where does community pharmacy fit in – prevention, minor illness or long-term conditions?
- What process will be used to bring stakeholders together?
- How can non-advanced pharmacists contribute?
- Where does shared care fit?
- What’s the update in digitalisation and joining up IT systems?
- What services could be shifted out of GP practice?
- How do we have a grown-up conversation about commissioning and contracting?
To view the full questions and answers from the plenary discussion ‘The Future for Pharmacy in the New Restructured NHS in England‘, click here, and for the ‘Neighbourhood Health‘ session, click here.
PM Healthcare wishes to thank all of the following companies who funded the event through event sponsorships and stand sponsorship.
Headline Sponsors
AstraZeneca, Roche Products Ltd
Stand Sponsors
Besins Healthcare (UK) Ltd, Chiesi Ltd, Daiichi Sankyo, Ethypharm UK, Eli Lilly and
Company Limited, Lupin Healthcare (UK) Ltd, Pfizer Ltd, Zentiva Pharma UK Ltd
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