Wales explores central purchasing
Central purchasing of medicines for use in primary care in Wales is to be investigated to see whether a workable system can be developed.
Centralised purchasing was
a key recommendation of the Auditor General for Wales, Sir John Bourne,
in a report earlier this year (PJ, 29 March,
p430). Sir John estimates potential savings on the Welsh drugs bill
of up to £50m.
A Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) paper put before the Assembly’s
Audit Committee on 27 November accepts the recommendation despite advice
to the contrary from the All-Wales Medicines Strategy Group’s chairman.
In a letter to Ann Lloyd, director of NHS Wales, the AWMSG’s chairman
(Professor Roger Walker) wrote: “Although there are a number of
recommendations in the Auditor General’s report that AWMSG will
act upon, we feel obliged to advise that central procurement of medicines
in primary care should not be pursued at this point in time.”
Rather than accept Professor Walker’s brief statement, the assembly
Government seems to have noted that two AWMSG subgroups had concluded
that central procurement should not be implemented on the basis of available
evidence. A summary of the group’s meeting at which the matter
was considered also said that if central procurement was to be pursued
then detailed and costed models should be produced and subjected to proper
consultation.
The WAG has now asked the Welsh Procurement Initiative Team to consult
procurement staff in NHS Wales to see if they can work up suitable proposals.
The WAG recognises that any proposals will need to be developed in the
light of possible future United Kingdom-wide arrangements for the reimbursement
of generic medicines that might render centralisation inappropriate.
They will also need to take account of any proposals to amend the Pharmaceutical
Price Regulation Scheme operated across the UK by the Department of Health.
Phil Parry, chairman of Community Pharmacy Wales, said: “We have
had reassurances from WAG that any steps taken at present are both tentative
and exploratory.” |
