The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7187 p274-79
2 March 2002

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Minister is getting the message from pharmacy, says NPA chairman

Allowing pharmacy contractors to keep half of last year's remuneration overspend may indicate that Hazel Blears, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, is getting the message from dissatisfied pharmacists, the National Pharmaceutical Association's chairman, Gerald Alexander, says. Writing in the latest NPA Supplement, Mr Alexander says that the threat of a judicial review and consistent messages of disgust and disappointment over the recent imposition appear to have had an impact.

However, Mr Alexander says that welcome as the write-off is, it does not address the root of the problem — the lack of any link to prescription volume in remuneration arrangements. All indicators point to a continued increase in prescription volume so, under current arrangements, dispensing fees will be depressed and pharmacists will need to dispense proportionally greater number of prescriptions to see any increase in income. "The Department of Health says that it remains committed to the pharmacy programme and recognises that if it is to happen pharmacists will need to be fairly remunerated and be satisfied that it is fair," he says. "We agree and welcome this positive signal from the Department and its recognition of the demotivation and low morale of many community pharmacists."