GMS money available to pharmacy
Chris Town: pharmacists can bid for nGMS money |
Money given to primary care trusts under the new general medical services (nGMS) contract to pay for enhanced services is available to pharmacies.
Chris Town, chairman of the NHS Confederation team which is negotiating
the new pharmacy contract with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee, said at the PSNC’s community pharmacy conference last
week: “We haven’t said that enhanced services money must
go to GPs. It’s a budget for primary care trusts, but they can
commission the services from anywhere in primary care.”
Mr Town’s message was reinforced by Dr David Colin-Thomé,
the Department of Health’s national clinical director for primary
care, and Felicity Cox, chief executive of Watford and Three Rivers PCT
and a member of Mr Town’s negotiating team.
Dr Colin-Thomé told pharmacists at the conference: “We will
be giving more resource to practices — and that could include you.”
Ms Cox said: “The nGMS contract is not a GP contract. It’s
about appropriate services from a range of professionals across the whole
PCT.”
Under the nGMS contract, enhanced services are the equivalent of what
are currently to be termed additional services under the new pharmacy
contract. The terminology may be changed to reduce confusion. |
