Self-care

PAGB founded the Self-Care Strategy Group in 2021 to help shape the self-care policy landscape. Its members include representatives from leading pharmacy and healthcare organisations including the Company Chemists’ Association, the National Association of Primary Care, the National Pharmaceutical Association, NHS Clinical Commissioners, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Self Care Forum. The group is chaired by Dr Graham Jackson, National Clinical Advisor, Elective Programmes, NHS England.

In May 2023, the Government and NHS England published a ‘Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care’. As a direct result of our work with the Self-Care Strategy Group and publication of a Blueprint for a national self-care strategy, seven out of nine recommendations in the Blueprint were included in the primary care recovery plan.

Following the 2024 General Election, the Self-Care Strategy Group has continued its work influencing the new Government, and in May 2025 shared a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the authors of the 10 Year Health Plan urging them to ensure that self-care is clearly recognised and underpinned by concrete policies within the Plan. The Plan was published in July 2025 and includes a commitment to self-care policy.

We also support and work with our international colleagues on the promotion of self-care on a global level. PAGB’s self-care policy priorities are addressed in the Global Self-Care Federation’s Global Self-care Readiness Index – an in-depth analysis of self-care data in countries around the world. The Index is a practical tool to help policymakers better understand and recognise the enablers of self-care: stakeholder support; consumer empowerment; health policy; and the regulatory environment.

In 2024, PAGB responded rapidly to an emerging threat to the sale of OTC antimicrobial medicines following a World Health Organisation Resolution, and subsequent United Nations Political Declaration. PAGB led the way in developing a UK position and participating in a global taskforce. Identifying and connecting with key stakeholders in this space, we were able to make contact with the International Directorate at the Department for Health and Social Care to express our concerns ahead of the negotiation period.

2025 has also seen a lot of activity with our international partners. In January, the PAGB team hosted a delegation from the regulatory agencies and health ministries of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, alongside colleagues from the Department for Business and Trade and the British Embassies in Quito, Lima, and Bogotá. We presented on the value of self-care, sharing PAGB’s journey in successfully campaigning for a national self-care policy.

We have also joined a training event hosted by ILAR (the Latin American Association of Responsible Self-Care), focused on sharing best practice in integrating self-care policies at a national level, where we presented to the Ministries of Health of the member countries of the Council of Ministers of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic (COMISCA). We shared PAGB’s work on reclassification and highlighted our efforts to advance self-care policy in the UK.

In addition, PAGB has presented to the Board of the Greek self-care trade association, EFEX, this year to share insights and best practice from the UK on working with members, advancing self-care policy, and reinvigorating reclassification.