The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp) and senior official of NHS Property Services (NHSPS) had a meeting on August 18 to review the rent
policy for health centre pharmacies.
Earlier, the association had sent a letter to NHSPS that was signed by pharmacies from across the sector, including single independents, pharmacy groups and members
of the Company Chemists' Association.
The letter outlined concerns about rent reviews and the impact of it on the co-located health centre pharmacies.
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of AIMp, said: "We outlined that whilst in the past, the norm established by the industry, was to base rents for co-located pharmacies
primarily based on patient list size, (and taking account of a few other factors), the industry now needs to revise the basis on which rents are determined for
co-located pharmacies."
The association, on behalf of the pharmacy sector, met the CEO of NHSPS and two of their senior directors (director or property management and their finance director).
The pharmacy bodies have welcomed Health Select Committee's inquiry into pharmacy services and are calling the community pharmacies to engage fully.
On Thursday (8 June), MPs launched a new inquiry to examine the 'readiness of pharmacy services'. At the end of the inquiry, the committee will be making
recommendations to the government on what action needs to be taken to ensure the potential of pharmacy is realised. It is currently seeking views and evidence
from anyone who can answer any or some of the questions listed here by Thursday 6 July.
National Pharmacy Association (NPA), Company Chemists' Association (CCA) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) have confirmed that they will be submitting the
written evidence.
RPS said it will be submitting written evidence, and if they are called to give oral evidence they'll do so.
Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the CCA commented: "We welcome the Health Committee's much-awaited inquiry into pharmacy. Whilst the recent announcement of
investment into the sector is welcome, this is new money for new activity. The historic underfunding of community pharmacy remains, and Primary Care Networks
(PCNs) continue to directly recruit community pharmacists.
Rowlands Pharmacy has joined hands with healthcare software company HasHealth for an enhanced digital proposition to facilitate seamless delivery of a raft of
clinical services including flu and travel vaccinations.
The new system is now available across 400 Rowlands pharmacies across the UK.
The partnership comes as Rowlands Pharmacy strives to provide patients with a seamless booking experience whilst minimising time-consuming administration for pharmacy
staff, with its waiting list, medical pre-screen questionnaires and resource management capabilities, the company said in a statement.
HasHealth offers a virtual healthcare software solution that allows community pharmacies to schedule, manage, and communicate with patients easily online. It combines
its cutting-edge video technology with booking and management software, which can be adapted to any clinical service.
Nigel Swift, managing director at Rowlands Pharmacy, commented: "We pride ourselves on listening to our staff, based on feedback we knew we could do better with our
digital proposition for clinical services and flu vaccinations in particular.
With the Pharmacy First services scheduled for launch end of this month, legislators explored the potential of community pharmacies to offer specific
diagnostic and treatment services in the second public evidence session of pharmacy inquiry this week (January 16).
The new service, which will enable pharmacists to offer advice and prescribe treatment for seven minor ailments, is expected to alleviate the pressure on the
NHS, reduce GP workload, and cut waiting lists.
But MPs and healthcare leaders also acknowledged that there's hesitancy and the mindset of 'GP first, not Pharmacy First' among members of the public.
"We must accept that many patients are used to seeing their GP as their first port of call for many health conditions. Pharmacy First is welcome, but there are
going to be some restrictions on how quickly some patients will want to take up some of those services, rather than seeing their GP," said William Pett, Head
of Policy, Public Affairs and Research, Healthwatch England.
As the Easter holiday draws near, pharmacies across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are readying themselves to provide essential healthcare services
to residents.
Operational throughout Good Friday (March 29), Easter Sunday (March 31), and Easter Monday (April 1), these pharmacies stand poised to offer vital support to
those in need.
NHS England has raised awareness by releasing a comprehensive list of pharmacies scheduled to operate during the holiday period. Hampshire residents, including
those in Southampton and Portsmouth, can access detailed information about open pharmacies on the NHS England website, along with separate listings for the Isle
of Wight.
However, it's important to note that opening times may vary, prompting individuals to confirm details before visiting, as schedules are subject to change.
Beyond merely dispensing prescriptions, pharmacies are equipped to provide expert advice on minor illnesses and administer treatments for common conditions. This
includes addressing issues such as shingles, sore throats, infected insect bites, earaches, sinusitis, impetigo, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections
(UTI) under the Pharmacy First scheme.
To help pharmacy owner to better understand the negotiating process, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has published commentary and infographics.
"Our work to negotiate fair funding, as well as changes to NHS pharmacy services, with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England is a
crucial part of our role," said CPE.
"Understandably the sector is eagerly awaiting an update on the progress of the current negotiations on the Government's pledge to invest £645m in community
pharmacies and, as part of our ongoing efforts to improve transparency of our work, we have released materials to explain the negotiating process."
Negotiating Team Member Stephen Thomas - who joined the team this year - has written a blog about his experiences.
He has described both the complexity of the process and volume of work undertaken, and recognises the significance of his role on behalf of pharmacy owners across
the country.
Whilst speed is of the essence, even higher on the Negotiating Team's list of priorities is working through a large number of important questions - particularly
around the funding and logistics that need to be put in place.
Private healthcare provider CityDoc has partnered with the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) in its bid to widen a "nationwide network of vaccine clinics" to
increase footfall to community pharmacies that come onboard.
The company says NPA member pharmacies that join the network will have their own dedicated page on the CityDoc website, while benefiting from having online marketing
done on their behalf via an extensive Google AdWords campaign and local listings optimisation - all paid for by CityDoc.
The participating pharmacies will also have access to their own booking system, marketing materials and access to the latest vaccine and private healthcare
information.
NPA member Nick Daines, who runs Lifestyle Pharmacy in Bath, said he has partnered with CityDoc for six years and seen "a significant increase in revenue from
private services."
He added: "The CityDoc partnership has allowed us to establish Lifestyle Pharmacy as a go-to venue for healthcare within Bath.
"We have seen significantly increased footfall thanks to our partnership with CityDoc, which in turn has allowed us to grow the NHS and retail aspects of the business."
The future of community pharmacies is in danger. With some 639 local pharmacies closing in England since 2016, action is clearly needed to ensure their
longevity and maintain their rightful place on the high street.
With increasing pressure on the NHS, which is suffering from healthcare backlogs and long waiting lists following the harsh impact of the pandemic, pharmacies
have an opportunity to create a more substantial contribution within the healthcare industry.
To ensure that pharmacies are able to embrace this opportunity, they need to be equipped with the necessary tools to enable them to meet the needs of an increasingly
digital population.
One way of doing this is to support pharmacies online, by providing them with a means to connect to patients via mobile, tablet or desktop. In turn, the UK population
needs to be more aware of the services that can be provided by a pharmacist - many of which would save them from visiting a GP.
The Department of Health and Social Care has updated the list of community pharmacies eligible for the Pharmacy Access Scheme (PhAS) and approved 43 cases
out of 63 applications, bringing the the total number of eligible pharmacies in England to 1,445.
Earlier this year, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) invited community pharmacy contractors to apply for a review if they believed there were any inaccuracies
in relation to pharmacy premises addresses or unforeseen circumstances affecting access, such as a permanent roadblock.
Submitted applications were reviewed by the relevant NHSE&I regional pharmacy contract team, and determined by the relevant pharmaceutical services regulations
committees (PSRC).
Due to the workload pressures seen over winter, the review deadline was extended, giving contractors applying for a review two full months to complete their
applications. This also pushed back the announcement of the outcome of the review, but where an application has been successful, PhAS payments will be backdated
to the start of the scheme.
Professor Michael Gordon Scott and Professor Charlotte Anne Skitterall have been recognised in the New Year Honours list 2023 for their 'service to pharmacy'.
Professor Scott Director, Medicines Optimisation Innovation Centre was one among the 1,107 people to received MBE for his 'service to pharmacy' in Northern Ireland.
In 1994 he established the first academic practice unit in the province in conjunction with the Queens University of Belfast. In 2004 he was made a fellow of the
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. In June 2009 he was made an honorary Professor of Pharmacy Practice at QUB.
Professor Skitterall, Group Chief Pharmacist, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust received MBE for 'services to Pharmacy'. Last year, she was appointed as a
Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. "I think it was awarded in recognition of the work I have done as chair of the National Medicines Optimisation Clinical
Reference Group. I also supported the National Pharmacy Task and Finish Group for Covid Vaccine deployment," she commented.
This year, dozens of NHS staff have been recognised in the New Year Honours list ahead of the health service's 75th birthday.
The regulators have added 10 new products to the 'Drugs for which Discount is Not Deducted' (DND) list from Thursday (01 June).
Community Pharmacy England on behalf of its members had made further applications to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the NHS Business Services
Authority (NHSBSA), resulting in the inclusion of 10 new products in the DND.
More than 610 products are granted DND status following checks made by Community Pharmacy England's dispensing & supply team over the past 3 years to ensure fair
reimbursement for our members.
The DND list is updated monthly by the DHSC and includes grouped and individual items. Individual items are separately listed in Part II of the Drug Tariff. Any
items covered by the 'Group Items' heading are not listed again individually in Part II.
"We will continue our work to assess whether other drugs and appliances fulfil the current DND entry requirements under either the 'Group' and 'Individual item'
criteria and make applications to NHSBSA and DHSC, on behalf of our members accordingly," said Community Pharmacy England.
NHS England has urged the pharmacy owners to continue to voluntarily submit New Medicine Service (NMS) quarterly summary data to the NHS Business Services
Authority (NHSBSA) for Quarter 4 (Q4) 2022/23 (January to March 2023).
Community Pharmacy England have agreed with NHS England that the quarterly returns will continue to be on a voluntary basis, with Q4 (January to March 2023) as the
second quarter to be reported.
It has thanked all the members that submitted NMS quarterly summary data for Quarter 3.
The mandatory requirement to submit this data has been suspended since 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"NHS England wants to continue collection of the quarterly returns to provide baseline data to support a long-term evaluation that will be conducted as part of
ongoing work to expand the scope of NMS," said Community Pharmacy England.
Voluntary submissions can be made via the NHSBSA website, where an updated reporting spreadsheet is also available for head offices to use who are able to submit
data on behalf of multiple pharmacies.
The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has begun conciliation with 86 pharmacy companies to safeguard the interests of former LloydsPharmacy pharmacists.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), a government agency, serves as a mediator between companies and employees to resolve disputes. If the
ongoing mediation prove unsuccessful, individual employees retain the option to file claims in the employment tribunal, the PDA has said.
The ongoing dispute centres around employers potentially failing to conduct the required consultation under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)
regulations (TUPE) with employees and their representatives during employee transfers, the PDA said.
The TUPE legislation, known for its complexity and technical nature, applies when a section of the company, like a pharmacy sold as an asset using standard disposal,
undergoes a transfer.
According to NHS England's recent pharmaceutical list, LloydsPharmacy has either sold or shuttered 461 branches since September 2022. According to NHSE data, as of
June 30, the pharmacy chain operates approximately 512 pharmacies in England. This positions it as the third-largest chain after Boots UK and Well Pharmacy.
Pharmacies lead among the list of 16 'most essential' services required for a neighbourhood, as revealed by the 2023 Community Barometer survey commissioned
by the Association of Convenience Stores.
In June, ACS commissioned Yonder Consulting to conduct a poll surveying the opinions of 1,000 people across the UK. The survey assessed how these individuals value
16 different services in their local area, defined as the region within a 15-minute walk from their homes.
The survey's essential services included pharmacies, post offices, convenience stores, banks, petrol stations, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, specialist food
shops, non-food shops, fast food shops, vape shops, charity shops, pawnbrokers, hairdressers, and gyms or sports facilities.
The tripartite negotiations to set the arrangements for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) in 2022/23 - Year 4 of the five-year CPCF deal - have now begun, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said.
The discussions, beginning ahead of the start of the financial year, are taking place between the PSNC and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I).
It will cover issues related to service, funding and other arrangements for pharmacies in 2022/23, in line with the five-year CPCF deal.
The three entities will also discuss the progress made to date, which has been partly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the recent joint Annual Review process, where PSNC raised serious concerns around the available capacity within community pharmacy.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is pushing ahead with its plans to implement a new drug tariff from April 2024. However, this move has
sparked strong opposition from Community Pharmacy England (CPE), raising concerns about its potential impact on pharmacies and patients.
Earlier, it was announced that the April drug tariff will include the new 'Retrospective top-up payment for Concessionary prices, which will be applied
automatically for the products listed in Part VIIIE each quarter by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), according to the volume the contractor was
paid for.
However, CPE argued that the government has imposed these "untested" changes without their agreement, and strongly opposed them stating that "no recovery or
downward pressure on margin is acceptable given the financial fragility of community pharmacies."
Janet Morrison, chief executive of CPE, has voiced strong opposition to these changes, arguing that "any system expecting pharmacies to dispense at a loss"
jeopardises the sector's financial stability and compromises patient care.
The chief pharmaceutical officer (CPhO) for Wales and chief pharmacists at Boots and the Ministry of Defence are among a total of 1,134 people who received
an award in the Queen's Birthday Honours list to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
All three pharmacists were appointed officers of the Order of the British Empire or OBE.
Andrew Evans, CPhO for Wales, was honoured "for services to the Covid-19 Response", Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist at Boots UK, "for services to pharmacy" and Sumeet
Kaur Matharu, chief pharmacist at the Ministry of Defence, "for services to Armed Forces Healthcare".
Giving his reaction to Pharmacy Business, Donovan said: I'm honoured to accept this recognition on behalf of the many dedicated and hard-working pharmacists and
pharmacy teams that I have had the privilege to work alongside over the years.
Three leading pharmacists - professor Mahendra Patel, Asif Aziz and Ade Williams - have been recognised in Queen Elizabeth's annual New Year's honours list.
Professor Patel, an academic pharmacist from West Yorkshire, was awarded an OBE for his "services to pharmacy." He told Pharmacy Business: "I am truly honoured and deeply humbled by this highly prestigious award that I have always believed was more deserving for others.
"That's not to say I'm not proud of it - far from it, although for me it's not necessarily about rewards and recognition but more the intricacies of the journey I embark on and the learning and joy that those encounters bring with it.
Most recently, Professor Patel - who has had a broad ranging portfolio career spanning community pharmacy, health education and health promotion, academia, and research - has been involved in promoting clinical trials across community pharmacies in the UK.
His latest work has seen him act as one of the national leads for the PRINCIPLE and PANORAMIC trials, run by Oxford University - both trials seek to pioneer repurposed and new drug treatments in the community to prevent hospitalisation due to Covid-19.
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has notified pharmacy teams that starting 1 August 2024, three Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) medicines will be
discontinued and will no longer be covered under the NHS HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate (HRT PPC) scheme.
These are Bedol® 2mg tablets, Climanor® 5mg tablets and Clinorette® tablets.
Since Climanor® 5mg tablets have been discontinued, Medroxyprogesterone 5mg tablets will also be removed from the HRT PPC list, as this generic product is no
longer available as a licensed HRT medicine.
The CPE also noted that Provera® 5mg tablets, being an unlicensed HRT medicine, are not covered by the HRT PPC.
Pharmacy staff are advised to check the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) website for the most current list of HRT medicines covered by the HRT PPC.
The CPE has updated its HRT PPC medicines list to reflect these changes, which will also be updated in Part XVI of the August 2024 Drug Tariff.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has published the Drug Tariff Category M price list for July which reflects an increase in reimbursement
level of approximately £5m per quarter.
An adjustment of -£23.8m was announced, in light of the results of the margin survey (latest result up until end of December 2022), and the phasing down of the
additional £100m agreed across years 4 and 5 as part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework and uplifts for underlying market prices
(between January - March 2023).
Community Pharmacy England has agreed the adjustments based on the analysis of margin delivery and on current projections for 2023/24.
It said: "The objectives are to ensure full delivery of agreed margin and smooth delivery as much as possible. As always, the impact on individual pharmacies
will vary depending on dispensing mix."