PSNC asks NE London contractors to pay levy direct
Pharmacy contractors in the North-East London Local Pharmaceutical Committee area are being asked to pay their levies direct to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee if they want to continue to receive support services from it.
The PSNC and the LPC have been locked in a row over payment of the LPC
levy for the past two years. The levy is collected by LPCs from Prescription
Pricing Authority payments. It is based on dispensing volumes and supports
PSNC work for contractors and in national negotiations.
The row has its roots in motions passed at the local pharmaceutical committees’ conference
in 2001 (PJ, 17 March 2001, pp345–7) and subsequent criticism of
the PSNC regarding progress on these at the LPCs’ conference in
2002 (PJ, 9 March 2002, p311). The motions related to developing a public
health strategy for community pharmacy and schemes to support patients
after discharge from hospital.
The PSNC said that it became aware in October 2002 that the LPC was linking
withholding of its levy to these issues. It sent a solicitor’s
letter in February 2003 demanding payment after hearing that LPCs in
the London area were considering breaking away from the PSNC. The PSNC
later withdrew the letter and PSNC executives met the LPC in September
this year. Now the PSNC says that the LPC is trying to impose further
preconditions on payment of its outstanding levies.
Barry Andrews, chairman of the PSNC, has written to contractors in north
east London direct saying that it can no longer defend to other contractors
continued provision of support to an LPC that is not making a financial
contribution. He says the move is disappointing at a time when pharmacy
needs to pull together to work on developing the new contract.
Sue Sharpe, chief executive of the PSNC, told The Journal that the issues
raised by the LPC, particularly around public health, are being addressed
as part of the new contract framework.
Alan Castell, vice-chairman of North East London LPC, confirmed that
the LPC has been withholding its levy for some time “in dispute
over the manner in which the PSNC has been discharging its duties to
the contractors that we represent”. This was done because “democratic
processes were not yielding progress”, he added.
He said that at no time had the LPC discussed or even considered divorcing
itself from the PSNC. Its action was aimed entirely at pursuading the
PSNC to pursue policies that it believed would promote the future security
and professional development of contractors. He stressed that the dispute
was with the PSNC as a body and not its executives. |
