The National Pharmaceutical Association wants community pharmacists to be able to supply emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) to patients, but only as part of a wider role in contraception.
Considering a Royal Pharmaceutical Society consultation document on contraception and sexual health (PJ, July 17, p82) at its September meeting, the NPA board decided that EHC supply should be part of a comprehensive service that included counselling on the importance of safe sex and regular use of contraception.
A range of issues would have to be considered before pharmacists could make direct supplies, board members believed. These included training, payment, accreditation, pharmacy premises and whether there was public support for the role.
Other matters considered at the NPA board's September meeting are reported below.
Ethics Board members welcomed a shift away from obligations and towards responsibilities in a draft revised code of ethics produced by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (PJ, September 18, p416). They suggested that this should be reflected in the document by the use of "should" rather than "must". Responsibilities placed on pharmacy owners and superintendent pharmacists should not be greater than those placed on individual pharmacists providing professional services. Owners should be allowed to rely on their pharmacists' professionalism. Other areas of disagreement included a requirement to provide first aid.
Smoking cessation Department of Health officials had said that further deregulation of products for nicotine replacement therapy was unlikely. NPA staff had explained pharmacy smoking cessation services to Department officials at a recent meeting. Another meeting would be held in five to six months' time. Meanwhile, details of the NPA's pharmacy health improvement framework would be provided and the NPA would seek involvement in a tobacco education campaign.
Manpower A submission to a Manchester university group that had been commissioned by the Society to help set research priorities on the pharmacy workforce identified three main areas for attention. They were: problems recruiting pharmacy managers and locums; the need for better understanding of the community pharmacy sector; and a need for improved understanding of the community pharmacy workforce.
VAT HM Customs and Excise had confirmed that medicines prescribed by National Health Service general medical practitioners remained zero-rated, even when the patient was in a nursing home or in hospital for treatment of a different condition. Zero rating did not apply to medicines to be used as part of a patient's treatment provided by the institution. Such medicines would comprise part of the VAT-exempt care charge.
National minimum wage The NPA had told the Low Pay Commission that the national minimum wage had had an impact on community pharmacy, although it was too early to calculate the exact financial effect. Many pharmacy owners would face much higher wage costs, it believed. This would damage profitability in a climate of decreasing margins from NHS dispensing and over-the-counter business, along with increased competition from supermarkets and the threatened abolition of resale price maintenance. Employers were likely to consider reducing staff and/or hours, and investment in staff training would be prejudiced.
Payroll A Department of Trade and Industry initiative to improve payroll handling in small businesses through a voucher scheme to buy payroll software and/or payroll services from accredited providers was welcomed.