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."
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.
The Health Committee's new report has reminded the government of a much-needed pharmacy workforce plan to support recruitment, training, and retention of staff.
The report makes a number of recommendations to optimise workloads across primary care, reduce pressure on general practice and hospitals, and support the integrated
care systems.
It also recognises the potential of pharmacist independent prescribers to support patient care, backed by appropriate supervision, training, and opportunities for
professional development.
RPS England gave evidence to MPs on the Committee at a public hearing in May, highlighting key issues to support the pharmacy workforce.
RPS director for England, Ravi Sharma, said: "Today's report underlines the urgent need for the Government to set out a comprehensive workforce plan for health and
care.
"It rightly recognises that boosting recruitment and retention, supporting staff wellbeing, fostering inclusion and diversity, and investing in education and
training will be crucial to the future of the NHS.
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."
Nine more new products have been classed as 'Drugs for which Discount is Not Deducted' (DND) from 1 July 2022, announced Department of Health and Social
Care (DHSC).
This takes the total number of products granted DND status over the past 2 years to over 500 following checks made by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee.
The Committee had made an application to DHSC and NHSBSA for the following 9 products to be added to the DND list of Individual items to which the discount
deduction scale will no longer apply from July 2022:
Fludrocortisone 50micrograms/5ml oral suspension (Group)
Lorazepam 1mg/5ml oral suspension (Group)
Lorazepam 500micrograms/5ml oral suspension (Group)
Zopiclone 3.75mg/5ml oral solution (Group)
Zopiclone 7.5mg/5ml oral solution (Group)
GA explore5 oral powder 12.5g sachets
HCU explore5 oral powder 12.5g sachets
MSUD explore5 oral powder 12.5g sachets
TYR explore5 oral powder 12.5g sachets
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.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has expressed its concerns over sustained pressures on medicines supply that are having a very
serious impact on community pharmacy teams and their patients.
It has asked contractors and their teams to continue using its regular reporting tools to help them demonstrate the scale of the problems to the Department of
Health and Social Care (DHSC) and to support escalations as needed.
The Committee said: "The sustained increases in price concessions that we have seen so far in 2022 - with more than 100 concessions being granted in some months -
show no signs of abating, and we know that many pharmacies now find themselves in a critical situation trying to source medicines in timely manner and facing
significant financial risk due to greater uncertainty around expected reimbursement prices for a large number of medicines."
"We know that some concessions being imposed by the Department do not match contractors' experience on the ground, and we would ask all contractors to continue
reporting pricing issues to us on a regular basis to support our representations: Report product over Drug Tariff price."
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has initiated the process for the regional representative election for the North-East and Cumbria
region after Mark Burdon's resignation from the Committee earlier this year.
The North-East and Cumbria region covers Community Pharmacy County Durham, Community Pharmacy Cumbria, Gateshead and South Tyneside LPC, North of Tyne LPC,
Sunderland LPC and Tees LPC.
PSNC said that Pharmacists who are independent chemists and members or officers of these LPCs are eligible to stand for election as a new regional representative.
"An independent chemist is defined in the PSNC constitution as a chemist operating retail pharmacy businesses' from no more than nine premises in England from which
NHS Pharmaceutical Services or Local Pharmaceutical Services are provided and a person who is not a member of the Association of Independent Multiple pharmacies
(AIMp)," said PSNC.
The following PSNC briefing sets out the election process and the actions required by those seeking to stand for election.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance on 'Evusheld' which is not recommended for vulnerable adult with high
risk of severe Covid-19 on Thursday (16 February).
The draft guidance is open for public consultation until 9 March 2023. The committee will consider any comments received at a meeting currently due to take place on
4 April 2023.
It comes after last month's decision by the US drug regulator to withdraw its emergency use authorisation for Evusheld as a preventative treatment for Covid-19,
which said there was insufficient evidence that Evusheld is effective against the dominant variants of Covid-19 in the US.
NICE's independent appraisal committee has reached the same conclusion having considered evidence which shows Evusheld is unlikely to prevent infection with most of
the variants circulating in the UK now and in the near future.
It has also announced that it is developing a new review process to update recommendations on the cost-effectiveness of Covid-19 treatments so they can be made
available more quickly to patients if they show promise against new variants and are found to be cost-effective.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has raised concerns over the NHS ad campaign highlighting how community pharmacies can support patients
with non-health advice amidst the growing pressure on pharmacies.
It believes the campaign will only 'worsen' the pressure on pharmacies.
"It is always deeply concerning to see campaigns directing people to pharmacies without any regard for the pressures they are under: it is irresponsible and extremely
unhelpful," said PSNC Chief Executive Janet Morrison.
She called the campaign 'particularly irritating' just weeks after the Committee rejected a series of proposals from NHS England and DHSC on relief measures to ease
pressure on pharmacies as being totally inadequate.
"NHS England Board Members have noted the pressure on pharmacies - so why are their teams so often acting to make these pressures worse? We need to see a radical
change in how NHS England treats pharmacies and we're continuing to press for that via our influencing and campaigning work," she added.
The NHS launched the new campaign on Monday (27 February) to highlight how high-street pharmacies can support patients with non-urgent health advice for minor
conditions including coughs, aches and colds.
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 Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has published a guidance for community pharmacies to help them in the implementation of the new
Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) for hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The new policy will rollout from 1 April 2023, patients who are not already exempt from NHS prescription charges will be able to purchase an annual HRT PPC for the
cost of two single prescription charges
Major concern raised by PSNC is that the NHS systems have not kept pace with policy, as the certificate is launching without the IT in place to support it.
PSNC has been clear that this is totally unacceptable, including raising this with Ministers directly and warning them that introducing the PPC without this
infrastructure risks causing confusion for some patients and adding to the burden for pharmacy teams.
"Government recognises the challenges but is determined to move forwards with the policy, said the Committee. "DHSC has recognised the impact this will have on
pharmacies and we are still pressing for appropriate financial compensation. We have also sought guidance for GPs, and now published our own guidance to try to
make the launch go as smoothly as it can for pharmacy teams."
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has increased the rate of discount deduction for generics from 17.52 per cent to 20 per cent.
The Drug Tariff for April 2023 will contain changes to the discount deduction arrangements for pharmacy contractors, which will include- all concession lines to be
considered as Group Items for Discount Not Deducted i.e. DND or zero discount (ZD) items; and rate of discount deduction for generics to increase from 17.52% to 20%
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and DHSC agreed on the changes for all concession lines to be considered as Group Items for Discount Not
Deducted. Therefore from 1 April 2023, a new category will be introduced into Part II of the Drug Tariff 'Drugs for which discount is not deducted'.
However, the Committee had rejected the changes in the rate of discount deduction for generics. It said, "Following pressure from NHS England, Ministers have now
chosen to impose changes to the previously agreed discount deduction arrangements, which come into effect from 1 April, and will be kept under review."
In a significant development, the British Medical Association's (BMA) consultants committee has voted to accept the government's offer on pay for senior
doctors in England, along with proposed reforms to the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB).
This decision follows a prolonged dispute between consultants and the government, which spanned over a year, involving unprecedented industrial actions.
committee Chair Vishal Sharma described the agreement as "the end of the beginning" in consultants' endeavors to restore their pay levels to those of 2008.
Stressing the importance of the review body's independence in averting future pay disputes, Sharma emphasized the imperative role of utilizing this autonomy
effectively.
A staggering 83% of consultants participating in the three-week referendum voted in favor of accepting the offer, signaling a widespread endorsement of the
agreement within the profession.
The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) on Monday alerted the Health and Social Care Committee that medicines shortages have increased and
are "around double what they were a year ago."
BGMA chief executive Mark Samuels told the Committee that they have been highlighting the medicine shortage risk to ministers since July 2021 and the association
is "very concerned" about the current situation.
"We've been monitoring it for several years now, and as you saw in the written evidence, shortages have increased. They're around double what they were a year ago.
We have them at 101 shortages in February this year," said Samuels.
Dr Rick Greville, director of distribution and supply at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), highlighted that the problem of drug
shortages in the UK is a "long-standing issue" and the scarcity of certain medications "continues to be challenging".
The Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) has undertaken an inquiry into prevention and has published its first report of the series which focuses on
vaccination.
It has announced ten workstreams that will form the basis of inquiry, of which vaccination is one.
HSCC said: "The UK has long been one of the world leaders on vaccination - one of the most successful and cost-effective preventative tools available. However,
if challenges around uptake and bureaucratic processes in clinical trial set-up are not addressed, there is a very real risk that the UK's position as a global
leader could be lost. This cannot be allowed to happen and in this report we set out some of the steps that we think will make a difference."
It recommended a more flexible delivery model making use of a wider range of healthcare professionals.
"The NHSE vaccination and immunisation strategy must have a strong focus on tackling practical challenges that limit vaccination access, make best use of a wider
array of professionals, empower local leaders to pursue ways of addressing uptake in their own areas, and to set out guidance and examples of best practice around
how voices other than NHSE can communicate important messaging around vaccination programmes," it suggested.
The Fitness-to-Practise Committee of the General Pharmaceutical Council has issued a three-month suspension to Mohammed Roohul Haque (Reg No: 2226084), a
locum pharmacist, due to incidents of workplace sexual misconduct.
According to the determination document issued by the regulatory body, Haque undertook the position of a locum pharmacist at Hollowood Chemists on July 12. It was
during this period that he encountered the dispenser (referred to as the "complainant"), a 40-year-old co-worker at the pharmacy, for the first instance. Following
this initial meeting, he proceeded to engage in making explicit sexual comments.
During the lunch break of the pharmacy's second dispenser, Haque asked the dispenser, who had lodged the complaint, to review photographs displayed on his mobile
phone, depicting renovations being carried out at his residence. The initial images focused on the ongoing renovation activities. However, he later switched to
displaying a full-screen photograph of his erect penis, the document said.
Despite the fact that the dispenser promptly distanced herself, Haque persisted in discussing the photograph with her. He went so far as to apologise, and even
asked if she had managed to closely observe the picture.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has invited pharmacy contractors, LPCs and others in the sector to share their views on an open
consultation on the "future of community pharmacy".
"The consultation - which takes the form of an online survey - is the first opportunity within PSNC's vision project for individuals and organisations to share
their thoughts with Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund," said PSNC.
The survey is happening in addition to an extensive programme of research, interviews and initial meetings of the vision Steering Group, Advisory Panel, and Working
Groups, all of which have contractors, LPCs and other representatives of the sector at their heart.
The online survey, asks five questions on topics such as Future policy goals; Why previous reviews and policies may not have fully achieved their objectives; Design
principles that should underpin the service offer made by community pharmacy; and Blocks and enablers for change.
David Webb, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, acknowledged that the "pressure in the system is high", but urged everyone to "keep our eye on the
design" of the NHS plan, adding that the "the objective is to bring the different parts of primary care together" in the patient interest.
Speaking during the opening keynote session at the the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) conference held on Thursday (13 October), he added that the NHS plan
intends to bring different parts of primary care together to help patients.
He said the new integrated care boards (ICBs) are a key strategic framework as they provide the "potential to form partnerships to deliver integrated services across
larger populations".
"ICBs will want to work with Local Pharmaceutical Committees to plan for the local population and the new community pharmacy clinical leads in ICBs, who have been
funded by NHS England, are there to advise."
He explained that once an ICB takes over the commissioning of pharmaceutical services (which they are all due to do by April 2023), it could use its funds to
commission a local enhanced service as an add on to an advanced service. For instance, a CVD risk assessment could be added to the blood pressure check service.
Fife-based trainee pharmacist and Honorary Secretary of the PDA LGBT+ Network, Soh Xi Ken has won the Scottish Trades Union Congress' (STUC) Equality Award.
One of Scotland's leading LGBT+ campaigners and Honorary Secretary of the PDA's LGBT+ Network has been recognised for his advocacy work for LGBT+ pharmacists
in Scotland.
Soh Xi Ken of the PDA received the Equality Award at the STUC Annual Congress in April 2023 in Dundee. The award praised Xi Ken's tireless advocacy for LGBT+ workers
within pharmacies in Scotland, highlighting his personal experience of homophobia in Scotland and his home country, Malaysia.
In May 2021, Xi Ken became a founding member of the PDA LGBT+ Network's committee and was elected as their first Honorary Secretary. The PDA LGBT+ Network is the
first of its kind in the pharmacy world and has made a significant difference to the profile of LGBT+ people in the profession.
Xi Ken and others within the PDA LGBT+ Network spotted that there was a lack of LGBT+-specific guidance given to pharmacy students and that their unique and specific
health needs were not being addressed as part of the pharmacy education that they received.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) today (19 October) issued its official response to an evaluation conducted by an independent expert panel
from the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) regarding government commitments in the pharmacy sector.
The joint agreement between DHSC, NHSE, and CPE (Community Pharmacy England) under a five-year plan commitment to review the funding model, however, the current
status is "continue to monitor and discuss progress".
The government has claimed that the panel's rating has "not been met" and still "requires improvement".
However, the funding "remains subject to affordability and consultation with the sector on the activity that can be delivered within that funding envelope".
