MSP condemns contract delay in Scotland
Failure to introduce the new pharmacy contract in Scotland at the same time as those for GPs and hospital doctors have been condemned by a pharmacist member of the Scottish Parliament.
David Davidson, the Conservative health spokesman in the Scottish Parliament,
says, in addition, that the Scottish Executive is failing to make best
use of pharmacists’ skills in improving access to health care because
it does not pay pharmacists if they decide not to dispense prescriptions
after exercising professional judgement.
After receiving confirmation from the Scottish Executive at the end of
March that it had not decided whether to pay such fees, Mr Davidson said: “I
am extremely concerned and disappointed that the Executive is not pushing
for an early resolution of this matter. With the Health Reform Bill moving
to Stage 3 in the Parliament and the GP and consultants’ contracts
having already been agreed it would have been sensible for the new pharmacy
contract to have been put in place at the same time.”
Frank Owens, chairman of the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council,
is content with the progress of the new discussions.
“We are currently working on infrastructure requirements such as
information management and technology, training, premises and legislation,
as well
as continuing our work on financial modelling, all with a view to implementing
the new contract from 2005–06 onwards.”
Mr Owens said that significant progress has already been achieved in
several key areas: 176 community pharmacies are piloting the minor ailments
service, around 120 community pharmacists have either completed, or are
due to complete, supplementary prescribing courses by early summer and
NHSnet roll out across Scotland is progressing well. Pharmacies in four
health board areas are already connected to NHSnet and remaining pharmacies
are due to be connected by the end of the current fiscal year.
“We are also in consultation with pharmacy software suppliers with
a view to identifying how best our patient medication records systems
might
assist community pharmacy in delivery of the proposed new services. All
this points to very real progress”, he said.
Even so, there is a considerable amount of work still to be done if the
new contract is to be delivered successfully. Complete delivery will
be through a gradual evolutionary process, with new services rolled out
as and when infrastructure and funding allow. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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