The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has called on the NHS England to uplift funding for pharmacy contractors to enable them to cover higher staffing costs
along with a range of other cost-inflating factors.
This follows latest data released by the recruitment platform Locate a Locum, which showed a huge increase in locum rates for pharmacists in 2021 and predicted the
trend to continue.
The report noted a 71 per cent surge in the cost of employing locum pharmacists in England, from the 2020 average to the second half of 2021.
NPA chief executive Mark Lyonette said: "There is a heavy reliance on locums in community pharmacy to maintain continuity of services with the average pharmacy
operating 50 hours per week. Consequently, increases in locum rates have a big effect on the cost base.
"Pharmacies face a range of general cost pressures beyond locum rates, including much higher energy costs. We hear a lot about the cost of living crisis; our
members are facing a cost of doing business crisis and it's every bit as real.
"The underlying underfunding, significant general inflationary pressures and specific cost increases relating to the locum workforce together make a powerful and
urgent case for new funding."
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.
The 'SaveOurPharmacies' roundtable held on Tuesday (21 March) to discuss severe challenges faced by the community pharmacies in England witnessed the support
of 15 MPs.
Janet Morrison, Chief Executive, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC); Andrew Lane, independent pharmacy owner and Chairman, National Pharmacy
Association (NPA) and Ian Strachan, independent pharmacy owner and Board Member, Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIM) attended the summit, which
was chaired by Stephen Hammond MP, to brief MPs on the severe challenges facing the sector.
MPs in attendance were Stephen Hammond, Sally-Ann Hart, Peter Aldous, Anna Firth, Taiwo Owatemi, Bob Seely, Derek Thomas, David Rutley, Lilian Greenwood, Tulip
Siddiq, Hillary Benn, Sarah Olney, Christian Wakeford, Daisy Cooper (researcher) and Victoria Atkins (researcher)
The title of the event 'Community pharmacy's role in the Primary Care Recovery Plan' which is expected imminently, is set to include a variety of measures aimed at
helping primary care to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
PSNC has been pressing for the plan to include a fully-funded national Pharmacy First service as this is the best chance for getting significant additional funds
into community pharmacies.
The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp) has appointed David Vanns as its non-executive Chairman following the retirement of its long serving
Chair Peter Cattee. Vanns will take up the role from April 2023.
Cattee, one of the co-founders of AIMp took up the role as its Chairman in 2000. He is also a non-CCA representative on the PSNC. Despite retiring as chairman Cattee
will remain on the AIMp board.
Commenting on his retirement Cattee said: "It's been my great good fortune to work with almost all of the owners of pharmacy groups throughout England, Scotland and
Wales over the years and many other talented people throughout the sector. It's been during a period of increasing consolidation, something which our own business
has reflected, and the original founders and Board members Yakub Patel, Kirit Patel, Steve Williams and David Vanns have all been instrumental in shaping pharmacy
negotiations to better reflect the views of our natural constituency - pharmacy group owners.
A spokesperson for AIMp said: "We thank Peter for his services and dedication to AIMp throughout the years. Our organisation has grown to be a diverse and dynamic
organisation representing and supporting pharmacy groups of all sizes, small and large. Our main identity and what unites us in AIMp, irrespective of the size of
the pharmacy group, is being Independents, and we are very proud of our identity. We look forward to continuing our work in representing and supporting our members
in the best way possible."
AstraZeneca on Wednesday (April 5) said a combination of its cancer drugs Imfinzi and Lynparza met the main goal in a late-stage trial in patients with
advanced ovarian cancer.
The drugmaker said treatment with a combination of those drugs, along with chemotherapy and bevacizumab - the existing standard of care - improved progression-free
survival in newly diagnosed patients with advanced ovarian cancer without certain mutations.
Lynparza is jointly developed with U.S.-based Merck & Co as a treatment for breast cancer in early stage with certain mutations. Imfinzi alone, along with
chemotherapy and bevacizumab, did not reach statistical significance in its interim analysis, the drugmaker added.
Philipp Harter, director, Department of Gynaecology and Gynaecologic Oncology, Evangelische Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Germany and principal investigator for the trial,
said: "DUO-O showcases the power of academia and industry collaboration in advancing new treatment combinations for patients with ovarian cancer. I'm grateful for
the academic cooperative study groups and patients around the world that made this trial possible and look forward to sharing the results with the clinical community."
Susan Galbraith, executive vice president, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, said: "While there has been significant progress for patients with advanced ovarian cancer, an
unmet need still remains. These data from the DUO-O trial provide encouraging evidence for this this Lynparza and Imfinzi combination in patients without tumour
BRCA mutations and reinforce our continued commitment to finding new treatment approaches for these patients. It will be important to understand the key secondary
endpoints as well as data for relevant subgroups."
Bas Vorsteveld has been elected as the new president of PAGB, the trade association representing the manufacturers of branded OTC medicines, self care medical
devices and food supplements.
Vorsteveld, who is vice president and general Manager of Haleon GB and Ireland, succeeds Neil Lister, managing director UK & Ireland and vice president at Perrigo.
PAGB said the appointment comes at a crucial time for the consumer healthcare association as it looks to expand the role of self-care, secure a long-term favourable
business environment for members, adapt to environmental challenges and continue to deliver excellent services for members.
"We are so pleased to welcome Bas to the role of President. Bas has been actively involved with PAGB as a board member and we're looking forward to continuing our
work with him. I have already seen from Bas's time on our Board that he combines great sector knowledge with drive, energy and genuine passion for what we do and
we're so excited to have him as our President," Michelle Riddalls, chief executive of PAGB, said.
"Bas's input and guidance as our strategy evolves over the coming years will be vital as we respond to new challenges as they emerge and make the most of the
opportunities ahead."
The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) has raised concerns over the rise in the VPAS rate for 2023 to 26.5 per cent.
The Department of Health Social Care (DHSC) today announced that the 2019 voluntary scheme payment percentage for 2023 will be 26.5%. The 2019 voluntary scheme
for branded medicines pricing and access is an agreement between the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the Association of the British
Pharmaceutical Industry.
BGMA believes that the high VPAS tax for 2023 risks more medicines shortages, rising prices for the NHS via reduced competition, and new medicine launches to the
UK being deferred.
Mark Samuels, Chief Executive of BGMA, said: "Raising the VPAS tax to 26.5% will damage the UK's medicines supply because it will make some products lossmaking. It
is more than a five-fold tax increase from 2021, and no industry can cope with this unpredictable and exceptional tax volatility.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to convene a 'medicines supply taskforce', following weeks
of problems with antibiotics supplies.
The NPA's chief executive Mark Lyonette wrote a letter to Steve Barclay this week. It cited the precedent of the HRT Taskforce which this summer brought together
representatives from across the supply chain after months of supply problems affecting women.
"We strongly believe that this situation calls for a similar response from the government. It is imperative that we resolve this supply situation urgently and
therefore we request that you convene a Medicines Supply Taskforce, with all the relevant stakeholders in the supply chain, to urgently discuss and agree practical
solutions to address the disruptions to the supply of medicines. HRT and antibiotics are the most visible examples of a wider problem with medicines supply
which needs to be addressed."
NPA board members Olivier Picard and Reena Barai were among the stakeholders joining meetings convened by the HRT Taskforce this summer.
Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies has said pharmacists have been "struggling to obtain the very basic, most
common cold and flu medicine."
She told the PA news agency that the shortage wasn't around "just the branded medicines" but "also simple things like throat lozenges, cough mixtures or pain
killers - particularly the ones that are soluble."
Stating that the sector was finding it very difficult these shortages she said "those people who are in charge of supporting us with it are denying it."
"The demand has been high because this season we've seen higher cases of colds and flu and people are obviously trying very hard to look after themselves and making
sure that they use the relevant products to manage the symptoms.
The Company Chemist Association (CCA) highlighted its concerns around the recruitment of pharmacists into Primary Care Networks as well as the need for
additional investment.
Commenting on the Ipsos survey findings, the Malcolm Harrison, the Chief executive of the CCA said: "We welcome the findings of the Ipsos survey, confirming that
patients value the quality of service and advice community pharmacies routinely provide.
"We are very concerned however that this cancer detection pilot, and all other pharmacy services, are at risk if the NHS is not prepared to inject urgently needed
funding into the sector."
He stated that without substantial investment, "we will see the continued erosion of the service pharmacies can provide."
In addition to the need for critical additional funding the association is also calling on the NHS to pause the recruitment of pharmacists into GP surgeries.
He said: "Patients are suffering because the demand for pharmacists in England is now significantly greater than that which the existing workforce can deliver."
An executive director of Day Lewis and also board director and member of Association of Independent Multiple pharmacies (AIMp) Jay Patel highlighted the key
issues and on ground challenges faced by the community pharmacies in a meeting hosted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and health secretary Steve Barclay in Downing
Street on Saturday (January 7) to tackle the NHS pressure.
In his interview with BBC, he said: "He (prime minister) was very engaging and trying to understand the key issues and practical challenges on the ground."
Patel described the meeting atmosphere as 'collaborative and proactive', and said, "people were genuinely asked their options and there were listeners too."
On BBC, answering to a question on 'how community pharmacies can alleviate the NHS pressure?', Patel said: "Pharmacies is the workplace for this. We have trust of
our patients; we have high skilled workforce both clinically and professionally. One of the opportunities we have is working around the acute treat
A survey of over six thousands pharmacies has revealed that the community pharmacy sector is buckling under growing cost and capacity pressures.
The survey conducted by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, which also involved two thousand community pharmacy confirms, rising costs, patient
demand and
medicine supply issues continue to grip the sector.
PSNC's 2023 Pharmacy Pressures Survey, run as a follow up to the 2022 pressures survey, provides clear comparative data showing the worsening situation across
the sector.
Govt must act now
The result of the survey indeed paints a bleak picture for community pharmacies and it is clear that without urgent action from government and the NHS this will
only get worse: more community pharmacies will either be forced to reduce the number of services they provide or, in the worst-case scenario, will be left with
no option but to close their doors for good.
The PSNC has urged the government to act now "to save our pharmacies, before it is too late for patients, the public, and the rest of the NHS".
"This year's survey clearly shows that community pharmacies are buckling under growing cost and capacity pressures," said PSNC Chief Executive Janet Morrison.
National pharmacy bodies have expressed their disappointment on the launch date for Tier 1 of the Pharmacy Contraception Service which has been announced by
NHS England (NHSE) as '24th April 2023′.
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said that this start date for the service has not been agreed with PSNC and is in direct contradiction of our
warning to Ministers that no new or expanded services can be rolled out in 2023/24 unless extra funding is put into community pharmacies.
Responding to this announcement, PSNC Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: "This is despite our warning last month that without additional funding, the roll-out of
Year 5 additional services and the Pharmacy Quality Scheme is neither feasible nor affordable. Community pharmacies are having to work harder and harder for less
money and many are at breaking point. And just this week the results of our 2023 Pharmacy Pressures Survey have confirmed the worsening situation.
Clearly our view is not because contractors don't see the benefit of the service. This is a much-anticipated service that could deliver real benefits to patients and
community pharmacies are always eager to support public health initiatives. But capacity in the sector is now so stretched that more money is needed to safely
resource additional work.
We have repeated our concerns to the Department in recent days and reminded them of the potential for a properly funded community pharmacy sector to play a greater
role in providing clinical solutions and relieving pressures elsewhere in primary care."
British drugmaker AstraZeneca says it's confident that its new version of COVID-19 antibody treatment could protect immunocompromised patients against all
known virus variants.
Laboratory studies show the antibody, called AZD3152, neutralises all known variants of COVID-19 and AstraZeneca has support from regulators to make the treatment
available by the end of this year, the company's vaccines head Iskra Reic said on Tuesday (April 18).
AstraZeneca plans, pending more positive data and regulatory approval, to make the antibody available by the end of 2023.
These types of therapies are most needed for people with compromised immune systems, either because of underlying conditions or because they are undergoing immune
suppressing treatments. They account for nearly 2% of the global population.
AstraZeneca's AZD3152, it new COVID-19 antibody, was acquired through a $157 million deal last year with British biotech start-up RQ Bio.
The British drugmaker will likely make future investments like its current partnerships with RQ Bio but did not have any deals to announce, said Reic, a long-time
AstraZeneca executive who has led the company's vaccines and immune therapies unit since it was formed in late 2021, during the pandemic.
Pharmacist Support, a charity centred on bolstering pharmacist well-being, has launched a new course to help pharmacy professionals to foster a positive and
supportive workplace culture.
The 'Embracing a Workplace Wellbeing Culture' course is specially designed for pharmacy managers and leaders, and aims to address the unique challenges faced by
them in cultivating a healthy environment for their teams.
During the course, they will be empowered with practical strategies that can be implemented immediately, which can contribute to improved team wellbeing and
performance.
Workforce Wellbeing surveys conducted by the firm with the RPS have shown that the pressures on the pharmacy workforce continue to negatively impact on mental
health and wellbeing, Pharmacist Support Chief Executive, Danielle Hunt said.
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has asked community pharmacy owners to share their views on preparations for the new national Pharmacy First service, ahead
of the next full Committee meeting at the end of January.
The advanced service, which is set for launch from 31 January, will allow patients to seek advice and treatment for seven common conditions directly from their
local pharmacy, without the need to contact their GP practice. It is expected to help NHS free up 10m GP appointments a year.
However, CPE chief executive Janet Morrison has previously expressed that the Pharmacy First investment is not the panacea for pharmacy's funding woes.
Pharmacy owners' feedback will be used in the Committee's campaigning and influencing work to press for an uplift to core funding, CPE said.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England have written a letter to pharmacy professionals thanking them for
providing the best possible services to patients and the public, despite experiencing high and sustained demands and pressures.
GPhC Chief Executive Duncan Rudkin and CPhO David Webb indicated that there will be further challenges over the coming weeks and months due to the ongoing industrial
action, and staff shortages due to sickness or caring responsibilities.
They expressed concerned that increased pressure will have a significant and potentially prolonged impact on pharmacy teams both personally and professionally.
Acknowledging that pharmacy professionals may have to make some difficult decisions as they deal with the pressures they face, the leaders have urged those working
in pharmacy to use "your professional judgement to assess and mitigate risk, and to deliver safe and effective care for your patients within your scope of practice."
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has expressed dissatisfaction with the spring budget as it brings "no specific relief" for the community pharmacy sector,
which is grappling with "soaring costs and severe medicine supply and pricing issues."
UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced his Spring Budget on Wednesday, confirming an extra £2.5 billion in day-to-day revenue funding for the NHS in England in 2024-25
and a new NHS productivity plan worth £3.4bn to modernise IT systems.
The Chancellor said that day-to-day spending would grow by 1 per cent per year on average in real terms, and the productivity plan is estimated to "unlock £35
billion worth of savings" from 2025-26 to 2029-30.
However, CPE chief executive, Janet Morrison commented that the budget has "no obvious good news" for community pharmacies who need "urgent relief from the ongoing
unsustainable funding and operational pressures" they are facing.
Morrison described the investment in Pharmacy First as "the most significant investment in pharmacies in a decade", but emphasised the need for further support to
stabilise the sector and its core contractual arrangements.
NHS England's decision to forgo commissioning puberty suppressing hormones (PSH) for children and young people, citing insufficient evidence of their safety
and clinical effectiveness, follows a comprehensive review conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2020.
The clinical report underscores that "PSH treatment options will not be part of routine commissioning" for people under the age of 18 in England grappling with
gender incongruence or dysphoria.
The NHS England review analysed nine observational studies on Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone Analogues (GnRHa) and found no statistically significant difference
in gender dysphoria, mental health, body image, and psychosocial functioning among children and adolescents treated with GnRHa.
Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), acknowledged the challenges faced by pharmacy professionals regarding prescriptions
for puberty suppressing hormones, stating:
London's Great Ormond Street Hospital and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool are poised to introduce groundbreaking gender-related services in
England, following the closure of the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
Amid concerns expressed by hospital executives regarding the closure of Gids, with leaked emails revealing apprehensions about appointment cancellations and
inadequate communication with the new services, the National Health Services England (NHSE) has confirmed "its commitment to ensuring continuity of care for
patients already accessing endocrine care in GIDS."
NHSE's decision to transition to regional services stems from a 2022 interim review, led by Dr. Hilary Cass, which highlighted the need for improved support
structures for gender-distressed youth.
It emphasized a significant increase in referrals to Gids, surpassing 5,000 in 2021/22, compared to less than 250 a decade ago.
