The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7188 p311-320
9 March 2002

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News summary

More money for medicines services

Over £8m has been pledged by the Government for 2002–03 to support the better use of medicines.

Health Minister Hazel Blears announced at the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee dinner on 4 March that £8.2m will be given to medicines management, the development of local pharmaceutical services contracts and clinical governance in community pharmacy, a 60 per cent increase on funds allocated for the current financial year.

There will also be increased funding for the Prescription Pricing Authority to deliver improved information and data systems to support LPS.

However, although the total figure was announced this week, at least £3m of the sum has already been allocated to the second wave of medicines management pilot sites run under the aegis of the National Prescribing Centre. Last month, 40 new sites were announced which will receive up to £75,000 each (PJ, 16 February, p199). The money will also support the PSNC medicines management pilots this year a spokeswoman for the Department of Health told The Journal.

John D'Arcy, chief executive of the National Pharmaceutical Association said: "It seems rather vague and it doesn't seem to be new money. What pharmacy needs is fresh resources."

Sue Sharpe, chief executive of the PSNC, noted that the money was an installment of the £30m of funding for medicines management already announced in the pharmacy plan for England.

Ms Blears also said that change in community pharmacy would be evolutionary, not revolutionary. She agreed that she and Department of Health officials were committed to making progress on developing a new contractual framework but she suggested that the process might be protracted.