Clarification sought on control of entry exemptions
The Government has been asked to clarify
what it means by two of the three exemptions it has proposed to pharmacy contract controls (PJ,
26 July, p105).
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee chief executive Sue Sharpe
has written to Rosie Winterton, the minister responsible for community
pharmacy, to tell her that the PSNC considers the precise definition
of a shopping centre over 15,000 sq m to be fundamental. Mrs Sharpe said
that the PSNC had made no objection to the statement in the 2000 pharmacy
plan that entry controls would be removed from large out-of-town shopping
centres, such as Bluewater. But it now feared that a collection of shops
in a suburban high street could satisfy the 15,000 sq m threshold and
drive a coach and horses through the entry controls.
The other main area of concern relates to consortia formed to establish
one-stop primary care centres. The PSNC wants to know whether the consortium
will be the primary care trust involved or the developers of the premises.
Mrs Sharpe’s letter says that the PSNC relied on an assurance by
Mrs Winterton’s predecessor that PCTs should not provide community
pharmacy services.
Mrs Sharpe goes on to say that it is bizarre to suggest that Balfour
Beatty or any other developer could be given an incentive to expand into
pharmacy services. She warns that only the larger pharmacy multiples
would have sufficient resources to be involved in development consortiums
and that the exemption seems to be discriminatory and risks creating
new local monopolies.
The PSNC also wants to know exactly what a one-stop primary care centre
is, given that a commonly used definition is a general medical practice
with a practice nurse plus at least one other health professional.
The letter suggests that the PSNC is anxious to move forward quickly
on the new pharmacy contract, provided that the necessary definitions
can be agreed first. |
