The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) will launch a new influencing campaign to build wider political support for community pharmacies
this week.
The campaign aims to ensure that MPs and Peers across Parliament understand the risks to pharmacy services that the current pressures on the sector are causing.
In a Parliamentary event held today (Tuesday 15 November) MPs and Peers heard from PSNC, LPC and other pharmacy bodies about the current situation.
PSNC briefed them on the urgent need for action to address the pressures on the sector.
The committee will be working with LPCs and contractors to organise a series of pharmacy visits for key Parliamentarians including Minsters, Committee and APPG
Members.
This is happening alongside work to develop a new vision and strategy for the community pharmacy sector, all of which is part of PSNC's strategy to lay the
ground for future CPCF negotiations.
Growing up with a family that worked in pharmacy, our dinner time conversation was not like that of other families. Ours would centre around medicines,
prescriptions, and the health challenges within our local community.
I quickly came to understand the importance of the role played by community pharmacists. So I can't help but be concerned that the current direction being taken by
digital health innovation threatens to leave community pharmacies behind.
Whilst it is brilliant that patients can easily access their prescriptions through the rise of online pharmacies, many of these cut out the vital knowledge and
expertise of local community pharmacists, and threaten to end the traditional close ties between local community pharmacists and their patients.
Nine out of 10 NHS users believe that pharmacists play an unrivalled role when it comes to keeping patients in the community safe. We must ensure that digital health
does not replace this important source of advice for health problems and injuries, but instead preserves and enhances this vital, personal role and enables
pharmacists to continue delivering care in new and effective ways.
A vital connection with patients
Community pharmacies provide crucial support to local patients with managing their medicines safely, particularly older and more vulnerable people. The specific
expertise and knowledge held by pharmacists can help inform the long-term management of a patient's condition and ensure they are kept safe from potential side
effects and complications.
In many cases, a pharmacy's most valuable asset is its NHS contract. This is what buyers are paying for - the right to provide pharmaceutical services
commissioned by the NHS and be reimbursed for the medicines dispensed.
However, a pharmacy consists of more than just an NHS contract and when buyers look for a pharmacy to buy, they will also examine these other areas - the pharmacy's
customer base, its staff, the property it operates from - to name a few - because these are all also crucial to a successful pharmacy.
In this day and age, another important consideration is the pharmacy's intellectual property (IP) i.e. the pharmacy's rights to certain types of information, ideas,
and forms of expression. At the most basic level, this includes the trade mark in the name of the pharmacy, because all pharmacies will have a name by which they
distinguish themselves from other pharmacies. The more well-known the name, the more valuable this form of IP is - mention 'Boots', for example, and most will have
an instant association with the largest pharmaceutical retailer in the UK.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), supported by the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK),
have launched the first e-learning module in a series for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to develop their skills and knowledge in research.
A total of nine e-learning modules will be released by the end of 2022 to improve research awareness, knowledge and skills for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
with little or no experience of research or research opportunities.
The aim is to improve the capacity of pharmacy professionals to provide the evidence base to improve the practice of pharmacy and the health of the public.
RPS President Professor Claire Anderson said: "Many pharmacy professionals are rather daunted by getting involved in research. Indeed, we have heard from
pharmacists undertaking our post-registration credentialing assessments that the Research domain can present a real challenge.
The large majority of adults in the England knew that flu jabs are available in many pharmacies, just over half were aware of the GP Community Pharmacist
Consultation Service or the New Medicine Service, according to a new survey by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).
The new survey revealed the need to raise the public awareness of key NHS services such as the New Medicine Service.
According to the survey, 56 per cent of those asked believed that pharmacies in England offer NHS consultations for people newly prescribed a medicine for a
long-term condition.
While 48 per cent believed that many pharmacies in England offer blood pressure monitoring (NHS or private). 51 per cent believed it to be true that GPs can
formally refer patients for same-day clinical advice from their local pharmacist about minor ailments.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has commissioned Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund to develop a new vision and strategic options for
community pharmacy.
The report is expected to be published in early summer next year, to underpin the future strategy for the sector. It will also support negotiations between PSNC
and policymakers as the current five-year Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) comes to an end.
Those negotiations will decide what happens after April 2024, and they will be critical to the future of the sector.
The development of a compelling vision and an effective strategy for community pharmacy was a key recommendation from the Pharmacy Representation Review Steering
Group (RSG). It forms one of the workstreams of the Transforming Pharmacy Representation Programme (TAPR) currently being undertaken by PSNC. But it is also a project
that PSNC wants to undertake anyway to help lay the foundations for those crucial upcoming negotiations.
Jonathan Burton will receive the 2022 RPS Charter Award for his outstanding work for the Society and the wider profession in promoting the interests of pharmacy.
The award will be presented by the President at a future meeting of Fellows and Members to take place at the Society's Edinburgh office on 22nd March 2023.
Jonathan's main role is as a practising, patient-facing pharmacist within the community in NHS Forth Valley where he uses his advanced practice skills and independent
prescribing qualification to assess and treat acute ENT, dermatology, and respiratory conditions.
He was one of the first community pharmacist prescribers in Scotland and has always been at the forefront of innovation and service development.
Jonathan has demonstrated outstanding commitment and passion for the pharmacy profession throughout his career. He has excelled as a pharmacist in the Right Medicine
Pharmacy group, on local and national committees, in advocacy for the pharmacy profession and as a local and national leader who is highly regarded as an exceptional
role model for the profession.
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has announced an immediate intervention worth over £5.3m in value, and a commitment to progress wider reform
arrangements in collaboration with the Community Pharmacy NI (CPNI) to support pharmacies to deal with the ongoing pressure.
The Minister and Department are 'very aware of the pressures facing community pharmacies'. They discussed the situation with CPNI representatives at a meeting last
week. The scale of the unprecedented budgetary pressures and uncertainty currently facing the Department were spelt out.
The Department said: "Notwithstanding these pressures, CPNI were informed that a support package for their sector was being finalised. This package includes immediate
interventions worth over £5.3m in value, plus a commitment to progress wider reform arrangements in collaboration with CPNI."
Recently, the CPNI highlighted that community pharmacists have issued a stark warning that shortages and skyrocketing prices of many medicines could result in
pharmacies being unable to supply important prescription medicines to patients.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has appointed James Davies as Director of England.
Davies will be joining RPS in January 2023 to drive professional leadership for the pharmacy profession in England, working with and for RPS members.
He'll lead on national policy development, professional advocacy and member engagement across England, in partnership with the English Pharmacy Board.
Davies said: "It's a privilege to take up this position within the RPS, the professional home of pharmacy. I have been a member of the RPS throughout my pharmacy
career, and that has helped me to continually drive excellence in pharmacy practice. I'm excited about delivering the current RPS strategy to ensure that pharmacy
is, and continues to be, at the forefront of healthcare. I'm eager to work as part of the team and with the Board, leading and developing opportunities for the
profession that improve the lives of patients and the public.
The consequences of NHS workforce crisis is not limited to general practice, community pharmacies are also suffering, commented Community Pharmacy England
after the General Medical Council (GMC) published a report on Friday (23 June) which warned of the burnout in the workforce.
The report calls for urgent actions to break a 'vicious cycle' of unmanageable workloads, dissatisfaction and burnout that is causing UK doctors to take steps to
quit.
Chief Executive Janet Morrison, said: "The GMC's report is yet another clear signal of the scale of the mounting the NHS workforce crisis, and this is not limited
to general practice: community pharmacies are also suffering the consequences of it."
"Pharmacy teams are overstretched, feeling immense pressures, and dealing with significantly increased workloads. Pharmacy owners are also finding it impossible to
make ends meet, not least given the rising staffing costs which are being driven up by workforce issues.
Findings show the number of doctors who reported working beyond their rostered hours on a weekly basis rose from 59% in 2021 to 70% in 2022, and 42% said they felt
unable to cope with their workload each week (up from 30% in 2021). Just half said they were satisfied in their work, down from 70% in 2021.
Well Pharmacy is offering free blood pressure checks in all its branches across England to raise awareness of the dangers posed by hypertension.
The leading independent pharmacy chain is inviting people to #thebigsqueeze in conjunction with May Measurement Month and World Hypertension Day (May 17) by
inviting them to get a free blood pressure check and to learn more on the importance of understanding hypertension.
George Sandhu, deputy superintendent pharmacist at Well Pharmacy said: "May Measurement Month is a global blood pressure screening awareness campaign. The aim is
to raise awareness of the dangers posed by elevated BP and hypertension. May 17 is World Hypertension Day, and a perfect time to take control and get your blood
pressure checked.
"We are delighted to be supporting this campaign. Hypertension (more commonly known as high blood pressure) can cause a range of health issues. Worryingly, it often
comes with no symptoms, which is why it is vital to know if your blood pressure is higher people don't have any symptoms of high blood pressure so having their blood
pressure checked is the only way to find out.
"People can come into any of our Well Pharmacies across England and have their blood pressure checked. The theme for 2023 is Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately,
Control It, Live Longer - and knowing your number is one of the most important things people can do.
Sobha Sharma Kandel wants community pharmacy teams up and down the country to be super responsive to emerging needs of their patients - by always being
pro-active rather than reactive.
"We know that every patient benefits from our proactive approaches - listening, asking questions, providing information and making clinical interventions when
appropriate.
"At a time when general practice is overstretched, community pharmacy must be relied upon as the frontline of the NHS when it comes to providing diagnosis,
treatment and continuous care in our communities to promote health and wellbeing of our patients."
Sobha believes Covid-19 has helped shift public perception of community pharmacies from being a place where one goes to collect a prescription to a hub where one
can access a range of healthcare advice and services.
"We are way more than just a shop where you can collect your medicines," she said, giving examples of how her interventions have helped reduce medication errors,
prevent harm and subsequently reduce cost of care.
She once saved a baby from getting overdosed with omeprazole when they had issues with gastroesophageal reflux. On another occasion, she managed a lady's high blood
pressure by finding equivalent medications to a combination dose prescribed by her doctor in another country.
Acknowledging publication of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Scotland's new professional vision for the future of pharmacy in Scotland - Pharmacy 2030, a Parliamentary Motion has been lodged in the Scottish Parliament.
The vision, produced in collaboration with the National Pharmacy Technician Group Scotland, expects all pharmacists in a patient-facing role to become independent prescribers by 2030.
The motion recognised the aim of the publication that by 2030 pharmacy teams will work together, using their expertise to make the best use of medicines and, will take a person-centred approach, providing care holistically rather than by clinical condition.
It highlighted the important role that RPS would play by working with partners across health and social care to turn this vision into a reality.
Keith Ridge, who retired from the role of England's chief pharmaceutical officer this month, has written to the NHS regional directors regarding a package to empower community pharmacies to implement clinical services in their integrated care systems.
Though details about this letter are not available, Malcolm Harrison, chief executive officer of the Company Chemists' Association, welcomed the move saying: "It is a positive step towards the greater integration of community pharmacy care into the NHS.
"It is vital for the NHS that patients can benefit from the clinical care services set out in the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework."
Harrison, however, highlighted that while pharmacies are being pushed to do more, the efforts to introduce new clinical services should be supported with "sustainable funding and material actions to increase workforce numbers in the sector."
"We are concerned that without the funding and people in place, the desired volume of necessary services cannot be delivered, no matter how well coordinated."
Community pharmacy should be involved in key decisions in neighbourhoods and systems to help reduce workload and increase patient access, a roundtable
organised by the National Pharmacy Association to discuss a recent review on primary care integration has concluded.
The NPA said it would be sending the recently published report on the roundtable to local pharmaceutical committees (LPCs) and other local pharmacy leaders as a
tool to help them engage with Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) which will become statutory bodies from July 1.
The 'Fuller Stocktake: Community Pharmacy Roundtable' report, published on June 13 by the NPA, is based on a meeting hosted by the association on behalf of the NHS
team running a key review of primary care integration, the so-called 'Fuller Stocktake'.
NPA integration lead, Michael Lennox, said: "The NPA recognises the critical importance of our LPC network colleagues being there for contractors at the 42 local
systems level and influencing to fulfil the laudable ambitions of the Fuller Report.
"We ensured that community pharmacy voices were heard in the stocktake process and now that conversation needs to be amplified locally."
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has called for comments and views on the recently launched consultation on selecting the appropriate mode of consultation when assessing a person's needs by pharmacy professionals including pharmacist prescribers.
The guidance note sets out what the pharmacy professional or prescriber, in
agreement with the patient, needs to consider when selecting the mode of consultation - such as face-to-face; video-link, video-chat, or other online platforms;
telephone and online questionnaires - best suited to gaining the information needed to deliver safe and effective pharmacy care.
The principles outlined in the guidance apply to consultations undertaken in all pharmacy settings, including those undertaken by online pharmacy services providers.
"Our plan is to include the contents of this guidance note in the document: 'In practice: Guidance for pharmacist prescribers' when we undertake our next review," said the regulator.
The voter turnout in England for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's English Pharmacy Board election dropped to 7.9 per cent this year.
Out of a total of 19,512 eligible individuals, only 1,534 decided to vote.
The RPS English Board received ten nominations for five vacancies this year; therefore an election was conducted. One nomination was received for the three
vacancies on the Welsh Pharmacy Board. Three nominations were received for the three vacancies on the Scottish Pharmacy Board. Therefore, no election was
conducted in pharmacy boards in Wales or Scotland.
RPS president Claire Anderson said: "It's disappointing that the voter turnout in England has dropped to 7.9 from 11.8 per cent in 2021. We have now appointed
an independent review of how RPS members, elected members and stakeholders can feel more engaged and empowered to influence RPS decisions, and eagerly await
its recommendations."
The Society appointed communications agency Luther Pendragon to lead a review into how it can develop and strengthen member participation.
The Pharmacists Defence Association (PDA) has expressed its interest to support pharmacists impacted with the latest announcement of the closure of Tesco
pharmacies.
"Tesco have followed ASDA and LloydsPharmacy (at Sainsbury's) to announce cost cutting changes to their stores, impacting hundreds of jobs," the association said.
The PDA's interests in the announcement relate to the planned closure of eight in-store Tesco pharmacies and the impact of those closures upon pharmacists, however
the union is of course concerned for all those impacted.
The PDA Union will support individual PDA members impacted by the decision so that they are aware of, and can exercise, their rights at work in relation to this
situation.
Paul Day, PDA Union Director said, "In addition to the immediate impact on pharmacists employed at the stores marked for closure, this is the third instance in just
twelve days of reductions in the overall access to a pharmacy for NHS patients. We expect those who represent communities to be concerned about the loss of a key
part of their local NHS service."
Working conditions in pharmacies have worsened in 2021, the annual Safer Pharmacies Survey conducted by the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) revealed,
highlighting the challenging and unsafe environments that some pharmacists are working in.
The survey asks pharmacists across all areas of practice about their experiences of key safety measures in the workplace.
Since the launch of the Safer Pharmacies Charter in 2017, PDA's annual surveys have monitored their feedback against the Charter's commitments, which covers seven
basic areas as standard practice for pharmacy work.
The commitments are No Self-Checking, Safe Staffing, Access to a Pharmacist, Adequate Rest, Respect for Professional Judgment, Raising Concerns and Physical Safety.
The survey revealed that eight out of 10 feel unsafe at work as violence and abuse still remain areas of concerns in pharmacy.
Amid media speculations that a large pharmacy multiple was putting all its stores at risk of closure, PSNC supremo Janet Morrison said the sector was in
crisis and in danger of a significant collapse.
Addressing delegates via a video link at Sigma Pharmaceutical's 13th Annual Community Pharmacy Conference held last week (March 4 -9) in Punta Cana, Dominican
Republic, she said while "a lot of consolidation or sales" would continue, a lot of the smaller, independently-owned community pharmacies - which had to work harder
and harder to make ends meet - were just "hanging on in there".
"But I don't know how much longer people can go on," she said, adding that the risk of actual closure was rendering the remaining pharmacies so fragile that "they
may not be able to pick up the slack of many thousands of patients" who would need repeat prescriptions.
"The disruption is frightful and awful. We have got 53 per cent of the population on repeat prescriptions, so that matters."
Her comment on the opening day of the conference was a sober reminder that the sector - which relies heavily on income from prescriptions - couldn't afford to
"carry on with the current format of a contract and the current amount of money" it was paid to deliver numerous tasks which have been heaped on it to share the
burden of a crippling NHS.
