The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has confirmed that the community pharmacy contractors are 'not required' to undertake a
contractor-chosen or an NHS England determined clinical audit in 2023/24.
"A clinical audit on anticoagulants is included in the Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) 2023/24. If contractors choose to not participate in PQS, and therefore do
not complete the anticoagulant clinical audit, there is still no requirement to complete two clinical audits in 2023/24," said PSNC.
"The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England have also committed to consider, during 2023/24, the removal of the requirement for a contractor-chosen
clinical audit permanently."
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned of multi-million financial hit for community pharmacies, while the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee (PSNC) has renewed its calls for urgent financial support amid a looming energy bill crisis.
NPA board member, Olivier Picard, this week shared a screenshot of his estimated electricity bill on WhatsApp groups. Upon expiration of his current arrangements,
in October, his electricity bill could rise from its current £1,821 for one pharmacy to an estimated £6,914 - a near fourfold increase.
Piccard said: "This is an eye-watering rise in costs for my own pharmacies and adds to the intense financial pressure we're already under. My standing charges will
multiply by 10 and the overall cost to each pharmacy amounts to about £5,000."
His comments come just ahead of an NPA-commissioned report into pharmacy inflation which will provide an analysis of inflationary costs pressing on the community
pharmacy sector, from utilities and workforce to medicines purchasing.
NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I), in association with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK),
has published its first inclusive pharmacy practice (IPP) bulletin, with an overarching ambition "to make community pharmacy a more inclusive environment for all
pharmacy professionals".
The IPP programme will take practical steps to improve the awareness and understanding at all levels of different cultural beliefs and attitudes, according to the
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC).
As a member of the IPP Improving Practice and Engagement Group, PSNC has contributed to this issue of the Bulletin, which focuses on how pharmacy professionals can
help to reduce health inequalities via the detection and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
The IPP programme, of which the Bulletin forms a part, aims to engage with local communities to help improve their health and reduce inequalities in care -
particularly among those from ethnically diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) to host a Parliamentary drop-in event in July to brief MPs and Peers about the ongoing medicines supply chain issues that
are negatively affecting pharmacies and their patients across the country.
CPE's Pressures Survey earlier this year highlighted the extent of both the operational and financial impacts of medicines supply issues on pharmacy businesses,
therefore it has continued to hear from both pharmacy owners and others about the problems.
The event aims to ensure that MPs understand the problems and their impact on pharmacies.
Peter Dowd MP is hosting the event, joined by representatives from Community Pharmacy England, the Nuffield Trust, patient groups and more.
The event will also be another opportunity to talk to MPs from across the political spectrum about the very serious situation that community pharmacies still find
themselves in and the need for further investment in the sector.
Janet Morrison OBE, Chief executive of Community Pharmacy England said: "The results of our Pressures Survey earlier this year showed just how much supply issues
are continuing to negatively impact pharmacy businesses and all those who work in them. The survey found that almost all pharmacy owners (97%) are facing
significant increases in wholesaler and medicine supply issues, with 71% saying this was leading to delays in prescriptions being issued.
As 19th September has been declared a bank holiday for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC)
has advised that there is a need for some pharmacies to remain open for public interest.
NHS England has discussed with PSNC how this will impact community pharmacy and is in the process of sending a letter to all contractors, setting out the above and
requesting that they work with their local NHS England team to help plan arrangements for pharmaceutical provision in the area on the 19th of September.
In considering arrangements for the 19th, contractors are encouraged to:
Consider the needs of their patients, including any specific clinical needs, since patients have little time to prepare. In particular, patients who collect
controlled drugs in instalments should be considered, noting the use of approved Home Office wording on prescriptions (see further information on our Controlled
Drug prescription forms webpage).
Consider staff availability. It is likely that many schools and childcare settings will close, affecting childcare arrangements.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has urged the pharmacy contractors to follow appropriate procedures for unplanned temporary closures
due to current workforce pressure, to avoid a breach of terms of service.
"If the temporary closure is not for reasons beyond the contractor's control, this may be a breach of the terms of service," said PSNC.
The committee also informed that in some areas, NHS England regional teams may ask contractors to complete a new notification form for any temporary closures that
request more information than the standard form, for example, on the mitigating actions taken by the contractor.
It added: "Completion of these forms is voluntary but may help to show NHS England that the closure was for reasons beyond the contractor's control, or that the
overall circumstances of the closure, including time closed and steps taken to ensure patient and public needs are met, indicate that there is no public interest
in taking any regulatory/performance action (such as a breach notice) against the contractor."
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has urged pharmacy contractors to use Manage Your Service (MYS) portal only for all monthly FP34C
submissions.
To secure access to earlier advance payments on 11 April 2022, the committee has advised pharmacy contractors to submit their claims for NHS pharmaceutical services
delivered in March 2022 no later than 5 April 2022.
PSNC said: "The Manage Your Service (MYS) portal is now the ONLY route available to contractors for all monthly FP34C submissions. From March 2022, contractors will
no longer receive the paper FP34C submission document through the post. However, the NHSBSA will continue to post out red separators for contractors to submit
relevant forms each month.
The health secretary, Steve Barclay was asked over the delay of 'Pharmacy First' model in England that was proposed by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee (PSNC) last year, at the Health Committee evidence session held on Tuesday (31 January).
Taiwo Owatemi MP (Chair of the Pharmacy APPG) asked whether he was adhering to his statutory responsibility to ensure continued access to medicines and cited the
CCA's closures in areas of deprivation research.
Barclay replied that the government is 'investing more'. He said, "We put an extra 100 million on top of the 2.6 billion a year we commit to community pharmacy to
expand the range of clinical services. We've got over 2 million patients that have been referred to community pharmacy from NHS."
He further added: "One of the issues I'm very keen on is to explore what more we can do in pharmacy not least given the pressures on GP and the opportunity to look
at what it is currently people go to GPS for where potentially the risk to do more at the pharmacy and we're already doing that."
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 Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has raised concerns over the impact that high medicine price rises are having on contractor.
Recently, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has granted the final list of price concessions for December 2022. The latest additions bring the total
number of concessionary prices granted for the month of December to 198, surpassing the previous record of 159 granted in September 2022.
PSNC has heard from hundreds of community pharmacy contractors who are paying inflated prices for antibiotics used for the treatment of Strep A and who have rightly
been concerned about the lack of certainty around the final reimbursement prices for these medicines.
It added: "We welcomed the involvement of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to look into the pricing of antibiotics. But the number of reports we are
getting from contractors about medicines price rises are just not acceptable and this goes far beyond the antibiotic crisis."
The government has extended VAT exemption from Monday (1 May) on healthcare services carried out by pharmacy staff under the supervision of pharmacists.
HM Revenue and Customs has issued a note detailing the change to the VAT treatment of medical services. The Government said this will bring the VAT treatment of
pharmacists in line with other registered health professionals providing medical services to the public.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said: "This is something that PSNC has been seeking Government agreement on for a long time, including in
recent CPCF negotiations."
PSNC believes that the extension of this VAT exemption will help as community pharmacy businesses try to make better use of the skill mix in their teams both now
and in the future.
"Not only does it enable contractors to review the VAT status of any locally commissioned services currently provided by non-registered pharmacy staff but also, in
time, it could be used to amend nationally commissioned services to allow support staff to provide certain parts. For example, following a recent amendment to the
service Directions, pharmacy technicians are now able to perform blood pressure checks as part of the Hypertension Case-Finding Service and deliver the Smoking
Cessation Service.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has called the 'new general practice contract' which was imposed by NHS England on Monday (6 March)
as 'simply unreasonable'.
The imposition of new contract followed a failed talk of British Medical Association (BMA)'s with the negotiator. The association's main issue with the contract is
the lack of further funding beyond that agreed in 2019 as part of the five-year deal.
PSNC Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: "The breakdown in GP contract negotiations for the second year running is another blow for primary care. The verdict of the
GP negotiators is that the demands being made of doctors by Government and the NHS are simply unreasonable."
"Community pharmacy is being treated with the same disregard: too much is being asked of us, with far too little funding available."
The committee has been raising the issue and challenges faced by the community pharmacists with the government. The government is asking pharmacies to do more by
taking giving additional services but the committee is of view with no extra funding the community pharmacies will collapse.
Along with pharmacists, pharmacy technicians in England are now able to perform blood pressure checks as part of the Hypertension Case-Finding Service and
deliver the Smoking Cessation Service (SCS).
The government has amended Drug Tariff and includes the amendments to The Pharmaceutical Services (Advanced and Enhanced Services) (Amendment) (England) Directions
2023.
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said: "The service specifications for both services are currently going through NHS England's publication
process; when these are published PSNC will alert contractors through their normal communication channels. PSNC resources for both of these services are also
currently being updated."
The specification for the Pharmacy Contraceptive Service has been launched for pharmacy contractors to download from the NHSBSA website.
However, the service will not start on 11th January 2023, as originally planned, but it is expected to commence in early 2023, revealed the Pharmaceutical Services
Negotiating Committee (PSNC).
It added: "The exact start date is yet to be agreed, as now the service specification has been published, community pharmacy IT system suppliers need time to develop
support for the service, so this is available to contractors from the service commencement date."
Commenting on the publication of the service specification, Alastair Buxton, Director of NHS Services, at PSNC said: "When time in their busy professional lives
allows, the publication of the service specification ahead of the start of the new service provides contractors and their teams with an opportunity to learn more
about it and to consider whether it is something they will have the capacity to provide in due course.
Only a day is left before community pharmacy contractors are required to complete Health Education England's Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey for 2022.
The survey closes on Wednesday (November 30).
The completion requirements are mandatory and particularly pertinent at a time when workforce challenges have become a major issue within the sector. These pressures
are being acutely felt within community pharmacy, with serious consequences for pharmacy contractors.
PSNC and the other national pharmacy bodies have called for improved workforce planning to be undertaken by the government and NHS, but for this to happen, high
quality workforce data for community pharmacy needs to be available, which will then provide a full picture of the sector's workforce, including identifying the
number of vacancies and regions where these are particularly hard to fill.
More than 9,300 pharmacy contractors would benefit from earlier advance payment in February, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said in an update.
Contractors who declared their January 2022 FP34C submission figures through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal by February 5 will receive earlier advance payments
by today (February 10).
The statistics indicates nearly 2,000 contractors will not receive any earlier advance payment this month, either because their January declarations were submitted late or they used the paper FP34C submission document to make their declaration, PSNC said.
These contractors will receive their advance payments in accordance with the normal payment timetable i.e. on March 1.
The negotiator reminded contractors that from April 2022 MYS will be the only process to make monthly submissions.
The regulators have reduced the notice periods for change to supplementary opening hours for community pharmacy contractors from 1 October 2022.
Following the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC)'s discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England as part of
Year 4 negotiations, it has been agreed that the required notice periods for changes to supplementary opening hours will reduce to five weeks.
Community pharmacy contractors who want to change their supplementary opening hours are required by their terms of service to notify NHS England.
"If a contractor wants to increase supplementary opening hours at the pharmacy, this can be done with no notice - but notification of the change must still be
given to NHS England," said PSNC.
"To decrease supplementary opening hours at the pharmacy, at least five weeks' notice must be given to NHS England prior to implementing the change."
In its response to the Health and Social Care Committee inquiry into 'Digital Transformation in the NHS', the Community Pharmacy IT Group (CP ITG) has
highlighted issues concerning the NHS community pharmacy.
CP ITG, of which PSNC is a member, has urged that pharmacy teams should have access to up-to-date records information, e.g. from Shared Care Records, GP Connect
and Summary Care Records with Additional Information.
It has also stated that the Booking and Referral Standards (BaRS) should be extended so that future referrals into and from pharmacy can be communicated seamlessly.
In its written response, CP ITG said: "Ensure that BaRS is expanded and aligns with other referral IT standards such as GP Connect referrals. Ensure it is used across
community pharmacy, the GP sector, other health care sectors and across the NHS, and by all health IT suppliers, so that messages and referrals can flow smoothly
within and across sectors and patients can have a seamless experience and safe care."
The group has asked the Health and Social Care Committee to create a framework for the development of pharmacy IT to ensure IT suppliers are better equipped to
support pharmacy teams and their delivery of services.
To ease pressure on community pharmacies, the deadline to meet the requirements of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme will be extended, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) announced today (December 15).
This follows an agreement reached between the negotiator and the NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Recognising the challenges faced by pharmacies and their contribution towards the Covid-19 vaccination programme, following additional changes have been agreed upon:
Contractors will not be required to complete the Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire for 2021/2022;
The requirement for pharmacy teams to complete a national audit (intended to be on valproate) in 2021/22 will be waived; and
The requirement for pharmacy teams to complete a contractor-chosen clinical audit in 2021/22 will be waived.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) is calling on NHS England and its member to pause and reflect before further implementing the pharmacy contraception
service.
NPA board met on Tuesday (25 April) to discuss the Pharmacy Contraception Service and the board decided that - with the community pharmacy sector at breaking
point - it cannot support the immediate roll out of this service.
The association believes that with no new funding for the service, and all existing funds in effect already allocated to other pharmacy activity, any payments
to the sector for delivery of the oral contraception service will ultimately be clawed back by NHS England.
Tweeting after the meeting yesterday, the NPA said: "We can't tell pharmacy owners what they can and can't do. But we can tell them the facts; fact number one is
that with no new funding currently available everyone will be a loser from the implementation of this service on the current terms."
NPA Vice-Chair Jay Badenhorst added: "We cannot be expected to take on more and more services without the increase in funding necessary to deliver them effectively.
Meanwhile, taking on additional work when current workload already exceeds capacity risks impacting negatively on the overall quality of care people experience in
pharmacies. We still believe this could, in future, be a great new pharmacy service, but not without the extra funding necessary to deliver it safely and
effectively. We want to offer women this extra support, but if it's worth doing it's worth doing properly."