Two weeks of debate before contract ballot
Consultation areas demand a rethink |
Contractors have two weeks to decide which way to vote in the ballot about the new community pharmacy contract in England and Wales. The deadline for returning ballot papers is 22 November. Initial reaction to the contract has been positive,
although a number of concerns have been raised.
The first of the contract roadshows
organised by the Pharmaceutical
Services Negotiating Committee were held
on 31 October. They were each attended by up to 150 contractors.
At one, in Maidstone in Kent, the consensus was that the requirement
to have a consultation room in order to provide advanced services would
be an obstacle. Barry Andrews, PSNC chairman, said that contractors had
to rethink space allocation and consider losing retail space for a consultation
area. One contractor said that many pharmacies do not have a large space
to do this, plus the cost of a refit is prohibitive. Sue Sharpe, PSNC
chief executive, pointed out that consultation areas could be the size
of a table. She added that if premises are too small for a consultation
area then there is a provision for contractors, with the consent of primary
care trusts, to be able to carry out reviews in the patient’s home,
a GP surgery or a suitable room at a nursing home.
Contractors were also concerned about the different speeds at which primary
care trusts will implement repeat dispensing and how this will affect
funding. Mrs Sharpe explained that £100m has been allocated for
repeat dispensing of which, in the first year of the contract, £70m
will be for transitional payments and £30m for repeat dispensing
item fees. “Every pharmacist will get the £1,500 set-up fee
irrespective of whether they get a repeat dispensing prescription in
the pharmacy,” she said. “As repeat dispensing grows, transitional
payments will go down.”
Patients’ freedom to decide which pharmacy to use once electronic
transmission of prescriptions has been introduced was also highlighted.
Lindsay McClure, head of information services at the PSNC, explained: “There
should be clear information for
patients about the choice of pharmacies.” But she added: “A
large question remains over whether doctors will be able to nominate
a patient’s pharmacy.” Discussions are ongoing but the PSNC
is “very concerned” about this.
News feature, p675 |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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