The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7258 p73
19 July 2003

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Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (www.psnc.org.uk)

PSNC adds more contract negotiators

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee is to add three pharmacists, who are members of the committee, to its team for negotiating the new pharmacy contract.

Raj Patel, vice-chairman of the PSNC, Dhiren Bhatt, East Anglia region, and Digby Emson, Company Chemists Association, join the existing 12-strong team from the PSNC and the NHS Confederation for meetings with the Department of Health.

At a press briefing earlier this week, PSNC chairman Barry Andrews said that he is pleased with the way in which the negotiations are progressing. "We have a number of strands of work under way and, as they are developed, we hope to be able to start talking about funding," he said.

The PSNC is using a two-stage approach for its negotiations and the subsequent ballots of contractors that it intends to hold. The first stage is to agree the structural framework for the new contract, which will consist of essential services provided by all contractors, and enhanced and additional services provided by some pharmacies (see News Feature, p77). Once the framework has been agreed it will be put to a ballot of contractors, probably in September. The PSNC will hold a special meeting in August to assess feedback from its contractor roadshows currently under way and to decide on when the ballot will be held.

Assuming that contractors accept the framework, and that the NHS Confederation also gains agreement from the primary care organisations it represents, then there will be detailed negotiations about funding the services. Once completed there will be a second ballot of contractors, although no date has yet been proposed for this.

Sue Sharpe, PSNC chief executive, said that the aim is to get commitment from the profession for the framework first "in order to back our claim for significant funding".

In support of the new contract, a cost-of-service survey was held last month (PJ, 7 June, p782). A second survey of pharmacy income streams is being held this month. This survey will look at figures such as total turnover and National Health Service turnover taken from the annual accounts of the businesses involved. The figures will be used to test whether the Department of Health can quantify the profit made by pharmacies on purchasing drugs for the NHS. The PSNC is seeking to allow pharmacies to retain some of the profit they make as part of their income stream alongside the remuneration for providing NHS pharmacy services and dispensing.

Other matters discussed at the July meeting of the PSNC are reported below:

Discount clawback The discount clawback is to be reduced by 1 per cent at each level of reimbursement with effect from 1 September. Overall, it will aim to recover 10.75 per cent of net ingredient cost over 12 months, compared with 11.5 per cent in the year to 31 March 2003. The reduction incorporates the removal of an old surcharge (0.19 per cent), proposed new zero discount arrangements (0.37 per cent) and repayment of projected over-clawback at 31 August.

Appliances and oxygen Working parties have been set up to respond to consultation documents from the Department of Health on arrangements for paying appliance contractors and on putting the supply of domiciliary oxygen out to tender.