CPS Welcomes Service Renewal Framework

Published: 20/06/25

In my role as Chief Executive I have been fully engaged with the development of a new Health and Social Care (HSC) Vision in Scotland alongside the recently launched Service Renewal Framework.  

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This development is the result of a year’s work following the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care’s outline of the vision for “a Scotland where people live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives” in June 2024. On 27 January 2025, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care introduced the development of an HSC Service Renewal Framework (2025-2035) as part of work the Scottish Government is doing to achieve this vision. 

The HSC Service Renewal Framework, which was published on the 17th of June, sets out how services across Scotland will renew and improve. It comprises of four key elements which the Scottish Government wants the future of health and social care to look like and deliver on: 

1. People: improving population health, 

2. Prevention: a focus on prevention and early intervention, 

3. Quality: providing quality services, and 

4. Access: maximising access, all underpinned by a person-centred approach. 

Although all elements are described at a high level in the document each can include community pharmacy as a key part of the primary care landscape. 

The Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) Policy Team have threaded these areas into our Mission, Vision, and Strategy work with the CPS Board and Council. This will be launched later in the summer and will provide a conversation piece to complement the Service Renewal Framework. 

I will continue to represent the organisation in multistakeholder conversations in this area. This framework sets the scene for the medium to long term (3,5 and 10 years), and the publication of the framework is the starting point. Later in the year, a Primary Care Route will be published, which should help the system align, including community pharmacy, with this strategic direction. 

We know the health service needs to change to meet the demands of the present, not just the future. Resources need to shift to support the impact primary care, including community pharmacy, can have in driving this change for patients. For me, this is where the rhetoric must be matched with action around this shifting resource. 

Community pharmacy is well placed to support this transformation, as CPS and others have said many times. We need to further evidence this and be supported with enhanced digital infrastructure to enable the community pharmacy network to meet patient need. 

The network continues to deliver, and CPS will advocate for the next evolution in pharmacy services. This includes aligning with the four elements outlined in the framework, clearly defining the roles of the pharmacist and wider pharmacy team in areas such as prescribing and prevention. I look forward to supporting this evolution of community pharmacy as it again steps up to meet the needs of Scotland. 

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