What We Do

Building a Healthier Nation

The UK is facing unprecedented healthcare challenges and the strains on our world class health services are beginning to show.

A huge growth in lifestyle related medical conditions
People are living longer but often with multiple serious long-term conditions
Growing health disparities between those who live in deprived areas and the rest of the country
Patients now have higher expectations about the care they should receive. They want more choice and control over their treatment
As a result, GPs and A&E departments are struggling to cope with the volume of those needing urgent acute care, long-term chronic care and wellbeing advice

In order to meet those challenges several key principles have emerged:

More co-ordination and integration of services across primary, secondary and social care sectors with new models of multi-disciplinary healthcare partnerships and commissioning
More support to help people self-care responsibly
A stronger focus on preventing ill-health and promoting wellbeing
Shifting care from hospitals into community settings
New technologies to improve access to care advice, support and condition monitoring
Better patient involvement in their on-going care plans

Given the extensive role we play – from medicine manufacturers through to individual patients – PHOENIX has a unique perspective on how healthcare reform can deliver better outcomes for patients within a finite NHS budget. For example, we advocate…

An extended role for community pharmacy to ease pressures on GPs and A&E departments

40% of GP appointments are for a minor ailment
- Community pharmacy has proved it can provide a high-quality minor ailments service (MAS) saving the NHS £400m a year
- MAS is available at every pharmacy in Scotland, Wales and NI but only in certain parts of England
Situated in the heart of the community and visited more often than GP surgeries, community pharmacy is ideally placed to spearhead healthy living and wellbeing initiatives. If someone wants advice on smoking cessation then they should see their local pharmacist, not book a GP appointment

Joined-up, integrated, patient-centric care

We need new models which enable healthcare professionals to work together in partnership in the best interests of the patient and overcome current primary, secondary and social care boundaries
Around 30 million people in the UK have a long-term chronic illness and the support they need to manage those conditions requires a multi-disciplinary approach, particularly GPs and pharmacists working together delivering a shared patient care plan
That requires fair and equitable funding contracts which are aligned and encourage collaboration rather than professional silos

Community-based preventative care, screening and health checks

Community pharmacy is ideally placed within communities to provide these services which would allow GPs to spend more time helping patients with complex, long-term complex conditions
Over 1 million people have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in the UK putting them at risk of strokes, heart attacks and blindness among other complications. Around 2,000 asthma patients die each year because they are not using their inhaler properly.