‘It is okay to admit that you were wrong!’ Camilla Tominey GRILLS Health Secretary on pharmacy scheme

The party says it would also expand the number of treatments pharmacies can offer without people seeing their GP first.

Labour said the announcement was the "latest empty promise" from the Tories on health.

Speaking to Camilla Tominey on GB News, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said: "So pharmacy first. We launched this at the beginning of the year, and in its first month, we saw 120,000 people being looked after under pharmacy.

"First, it shows that for the seven most basic conditions, the more comfortable we all become with the program of pharmacy, the more people will start to use it.

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"This is important not just for pharmacists because we want to use these highly skilled professionals to the top of their license. It's also important for you and me as patients.

"It means that we can get access to health care much more quickly than if we were waiting for these most basic conditions through GP practices. It, of course, also takes some of the heavy lifting of GPS, and we think this first tranche of pharmacy will free up to 10 million GP appointments when it's at full scale.

"So we're building on that and we're now increasing pharmacy first to women who have contraceptive needs, to women who want to help with their menopause."

Camilla then asked: "So Theresa May was completely wrong to try and slash community pharmacies, wasn't she?"

Atkins responded: "I think community pharmacy has a really important part in our healthcare system, both on our high street but also the expertise, of course."

Camilla said: " So the former Prime Minister was wrong. Why can't we just admit that?"

The Tory minister said: "What I'm trying to say is that this pharmacy first scheme is a brand new scheme. It has come about because of Rishi Sunak's experience of having a mother who was a pharmacist."

Camilla then pushed: "No, but Theresa May tried to do the complete opposite, so she was wrong. It's okay to admit that we can all admit that now."

Camilla added: "She tried to slash community pharmacies."

Atkins said: "I'm doing everything I can, I'm not familiar with that policy. I'm being honest.

"All I can focus on is what I can control. And what I can control is the rollout of pharmacy first and the expansion of pharmacy first."