The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is calling on the Government to commit to upgrading digital systems in hospital pharmacy as the chancellor Rachel Reeves announces her much-anticipated spending review.
The NHS will receive a £29bn real terms funding boost over the next three years, Ms Reeves said. This equates to a 3% increase in annual day-to-day spending from 2023/24 to 2028/29, making the spending £226bn by the end of the period.
She added there would also be a £2.3bn real terms increase in the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) annual capital budgets from 2023/24 to 2029/30, which would include money for new technology, primary care and hospitals.
The chancellor pledged additional funding by 2028/29 for the training of ‘thousands more GPs’, and an increase in funding of £4bn for adult social care in 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, which aligns with the Government’s ambition to treat more patients outside of hospital settings.
An investment of at least £80m per year for tobacco cessation programmes and enforcement to support delivery of the Tobacco & Vapes Bill was also announced to improve the health of the nation and reduce demand on the health service.
NHS technology and digital transformation is also set to get ‘up to £10bn’ by 2028/29 as part of the spending review settlement, which the Government said is ’an almost 50% increase from 2025/26’.
Responding to the Governments spending review, Professor Claire Anderson, RPS president, highlighted the need for an ‘upgrade to digital systems in hospital pharmacy, including the long-overdue roll-out of electronic prescribing.’
Spending review savings and efficiencies
Announcing the spending review 2025 in the House of Commons, Ms Reeves said: ‘We are shifting care back to the community, providing more funding to support the training of thousands more GPs to deliver millions more appointments.
‘I am proud to announce today that this Labour Government is making a record cash investment in our national health service, increasing real terms day to day spending by 3% per year for every single year of this spending review, an extra £29bn per year for the day to day running of our health service.’
The DHSC has committed to delivering at least 5% of savings and efficiencies over phase two of the review period.
‘This includes savings and efficiencies identified through the department’s zero-based review (ZBR) and the technical efficiencies which DHSC has worked with the Office for Value for Money (OVfM) on,’ it said. ‘This includes £17 billion savings over three years released by achieving 2% productivity. The NHS will also reduce the need for temporary staff by setting limits on agency spend, including eliminating agency usage for entry level roles. This will build on the near £1bn reduction in agency spend delivered in 2024/25.’
The spending review sets out planned day-to-day spending totals for all Government departments for the years from 2026/27 to 2028/29, and investment spending plans for a further year (from 2026/27 to 2029/30).
‘Resource and enable pharmacists’
Professor Anderson commented that the ‘Spending review is a testament to the crucial role of our health service and how patient access to care is consistently seen by the public as one of the most pressing issues facing our nation.’
She added: ‘This is all set against the backdrop of significant changes in healthcare structures up and down the country. With the abolition of NHS England and integrated care boards being asked to make substantial cuts, pharmacy system leaders must continue to be supported to help develop new services, ensure the best use of resources, and deliver some of the savings the NHS needs.
‘Medicines are a fundamental part of the health service and the UK’s life sciences success story. As it develops a 10-Year-Health-Plan, the Government must consider how to resource and enable pharmacists to help deliver new treatments and support the best use of medicines across the system.’
