Control of entry changes report due shortly
The report of the group set up to advise the Government on how changes to the regulations governing control of entry can be implemented in England is expected shortly.
Sue Sharpe, chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee and a member of the advisory group, confirmed to The Journal that the group held its last meeting in December. Final comments had
been made by the end of the year and the report is now being drafted.
Edited minutes of the first four of the group’s five meetings have
been posted on the Department of Health website.
The minutes show that considerable discussion took place about how the
new tests of choice and competition might be applied and how the four
exemption categories might be defined. The advisory group had a remit
to discuss implementation of changes to the regulations, but members
noted that this did not preclude them from offering views on whether
any of the exemptions should be introduced.
One topic of discussion was the need for primary care trusts to assess
the adequacy of existing pharmaceutical services in their areas before
any new contract applications are considered or invited.
The advisory group heard from Peter Magirr about a pharmacy assessment
scheme in Sheffield designed to ensure that valuable pharmacy services
are not adversely affected by primary care developments under the Local
Improvement Finance Trust scheme. Such an assessment tool could help
consistent decision making by primary care trusts. Dr Magirr is pharmaceutical
adviser to South East Sheffield PCT and represented the NHS Confederation
on the advisory group.
The group also heard that an agreement on rural dispensing arrangements
has been reached between pharmacy and medical representatives, but full
details of this have not been made public.
New rural dispensing rules could be introduced alongside any changes
to control of entry. |
