The National Health Service Executive has withdrawn funding it had originally
approved in principle to pay for pharmacy out-of-hours services to run parallel
to a walk-in centre in Croydon, south London.
Mr Andrew McCoig (chairman, Croydon local pharmaceutical committee) told The
Journal on November 6 that 10 pharmacies that were within a 10-minute walk of
the proposed centre were willing to provide an extended service and that development
work had been started on referral forms that nurses at the walk-in centre would
use to send patients to pharmacies to obtain treatment for appropriate conditions.
“In my 14 years of LPC membership I have never experienced a situation
where funding has been withdrawn well after the start of the venture,”
Mr McCoig said.
He said that the decision would inject cynicism into the minds of pharmacists
over statements in the national pharmacy plan, which referred more than once
to improving access to pharmaceutical services.
In a letter to the NHS Executive about the matter Mr McCoig wrote: “Your
department’s decision has removed an essential element on which all local
discussions between purchasing organisations and pharmacists are based —
trust. We cannot believe that those responsible for this decision have considered
the wider implications for future co-operation.”
Nurses at the walk-in centre are expected to supply medicines needed for immediate
care under patient group directions.