The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7182 p81-86
26 January 2002

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PCTs asked to integrate pharmacy into their local clinical governance plans

Primary care trusts in England have been asked to start integrating community pharmacy into their local clinical governance arrangements even though this is not yet part of pharmacy's terms of service.

Guidance issued by the Department of Health on 17 January says that by April PCTs should have identified clinical governance leads within PCTs, and among local community pharmacists, and to have established communication links between them. Community pharmacy should be represented on clinical governance committees and be included in plans for 2002–03. A community pharmacy clinical governance baseline assessment should be carried out, if it has not already been conducted (see Panel).

The guidance says: "At present, community pharmacies are not required by their terms of service to participate in local clinical governance arrangements. The Government has said that this will be one of the issues to be addressed when the national contractual framework is modernised." Meanwhile, progress is to be made by encouraging voluntary activity and by ensuring that clinical governance is built into any local pharmaceutical services pilot schemes. The Department of Health is to provide funding of up to £2m a year to support clinical governance in community pharmacy.

Sue Sharpe, chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, said that the PSNC is generally supportive of the guidance and the way in which it seeks to integrate community pharmacy into PCTs' clinical governance structures.

However, the PSNC wants to see proper funding to be put in place for clinical governance participation, pointing out that the £2m funding will not go far among 10,000 contractors.

Some community pharmacy companies have already taken steps to implement clinical governance, but the guidance notes that "shifts will be needed in the culture and practice of community pharmacy if clinical governance is to be sustained".

Local clinical governance leads should be pharmacists with current or recent experience of community pharmacy, the guidance says, and ownership of the role by local community pharmacists is essential.

In order to sustain clinical governance in the community, PCTs will have to provide schemes that are commercially positive or neutral and which can be used to enhance patients' perceptions of customer care in pharmacies leading to customer retention, the guidance says.

Copies of the guidance "Clinical governance in community pharmacy: guidelines on good practice in the NHS" have been sent to health authorities, primary care trusts and community pharmacies. Additional copies can be downloaded from the internet.

For a detailed explanation of the guidance click here.

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