Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report for 2024-25

Published: 12/06/25

This week the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) [Please can you link the document: https://www.gov.scot/publications/chief-medical-officers-annual-report-2024-2025-realistic-medicine-critical-connections/pages/1/] annual report has been published by the Scottish Government. This comes ahead of the Population Health Framework, which is due to be published in June. The CMO anticipates in the report that creating good health and preventing poor health will be a focus of the Population Health Framework. This represents a shift in the culture from illness management to prevention, which is also a key focus within the anticipated CPS Strategy for the community pharmacy network. 

Specifically, the CMO states, "We must do what we can to foster wellbeing – support healthy ageing, encourage greater upstream prevention of disease and support our communities to overcome loneliness and isolation. If we can support people to remain healthier for longer, not only can we achieve significant improvements in their health, but we can also enable people to remain economically active and have an active role in their families and communities."

CPS believes the community pharmacy network has untapped potential to support people to remain well at home for longer and obtain first class health care within their community where they feel supported. By creating services that focus on the prevention and early detection of ill health within the community pharmacy setting, the population of Scotland will have greater access to up front health interventions which will lead to better health outcomes and management. This in turn helps to support the wider NHS system by delivering care in the right place and focusing on improving health outcomes at a population level. We also know that community pharmacies are often pillars within the community setting, allowing people to have timely access to a health care team for a variety of support needs. It is therefore vital that community pharmacies are included in the approach to fostering greater wellbeing, and tackling loneliness and isolation within the communities they serve.

CPS will be reviewing the Population Health Framework once it is published, and engaging with policymakers to make the case for the community pharmacy network's place in delivery.

---