The 10-Year Health Plan
The government's ambition for pharmacy and automation
In July 2025, the UK Government published its 10-Year Health Plan, outlining a bold ambition: to reshape the NHS from a hospital-first model to one rooted in community care; with pharmacy playing a central role.
“By 2035, robots will deliver care with unprecedented precision… Pharmacy automation will ensure medication gets to patients quickly, easily and safely.”
This isn’t just a vision for the distant future. It’s a call to action that is already underway, backed by investment in dispensing robotics, expansion of services like Pharmacy First, and the formation of a Neighbourhood Health Service designed to get patients seen faster, in their own communities or even at home.
But what does this mean, practically, for your pharmacy, whether you’re a high-volume hub, a small independent, or something in between?
Neighbourhood Health Service
Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the new ‘Neighbourhood Health Service’. The services will bring NHS care closer to home and provide better support for people with complex conditions, keeping them well and avoiding unnecessary hospital trips. The neighbourhood health services will be delivered in most deprived areas first, where healthy life expectancy is lowest.
From September, the first 42 sites will then immediately start rolling out their neighbourhood health programmes, with clear guidance, support and metrics to report on regularly.
The department and NHS England will work with over 40 places across the country and ensure each region is covered by the programme. The services will be prioritised in working-class areas where healthy life expectancy is lowest, targeting communities with the greatest need first.
Our 10 Year Health Plan committed to building a Neighbourhood Health Service, and we’re hitting the ground running on delivering it.
If we are to get patients cared for faster, on their doorstep and even in their own home, then we need to shift the focus of the NHS from hospitals to the community
National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chief executive Henry Gregg said community pharmacy ‘can be key to radical service redesign that shifts NHS care out of hospitals into the community, provided sufficient investment’.
‘Pharmacies should be supported to deliver more primary care interventions that free up GPs to take on roles currently performed in expensive secondary care settings,’ he added.
This marks a new path for pharmacies, which will require readiness to change and understand how automation and robotics will fit for them.
The Evolution of Pharmacy Is Already Happening
Change in pharmacy isn’t new. At EMT Healthcare, we’ve supported pharmacies for over 60 years, and we’ve seen how the sector has evolved, from handwritten labels and manual tablet counts to barcoded packs and semi-automated workflows.
What’s different now is the pace and the scale of change.
The government’s strategy puts pharmacy at the centre of patient access. That includes more clinical responsibility, expanded minor ailment schemes, and yes; smarter, more scalable ways of dispensing.
Automation is no longer just a ‘nice to have’ for the largest players. It’s increasingly part of the wider national strategy to:
- Relieve pressure on GPs and hospitals
- Free up pharmacists’ time for clinical care
- Ensure accuracy and speed in medicines delivery
- Reduce waste and improve workflows
What If You’re Not Yet Ready for Robots?
Not every pharmacy will install a robot tomorrow. And that’s okay.
But every pharmacy does need to think about where it sits in the wider picture. The government’s direction is clear: more care delivered locally, supported by technology, and underpinned by new infrastructure.
So what’s the next step for you?
- It might be reviewing how you package and prepare prescriptions.
- It might be switching to consumables that are compatible with future automation.
- It might be assessing how your current workflow can evolve to free up time and space.
Whether you’re a pharmacy already investing in robotics, or just beginning to think about it, small changes today can help you align with the ambitions of tomorrow.
Looking Forward, With Experience Behind Us
At EMT Healthcare, we don’t just supply products, we work alongside pharmacy teams every day, listening, adapting, and responding to their evolving needs.
We’ve seen the shift toward MDS trays designed for robotics, the increased demand for secure packaging for hub-and-spoke models, and the growing interest in process improvement, even in the smallest pharmacies.
What we know is this: pharmacy will continue to evolve. The question is how prepared each business is to adapt to what’s coming next.
This isn’t about change for change’s sake. It’s about helping pharmacy teams continue to do what they do best—serve patients, safely and efficiently, while staying aligned with the NHS’s future vision.
Evolution doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. But it does need to start.
Now is the time to think about where your pharmacy fits into the national direction—and what changes, even small ones, will help you deliver on the ambitions being laid out today.
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