The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7369 p397
1 October 2005

This article
Reprint   Photocopy

  Acrobat Reader

News summary

Use of OTCs in PCT-list applications opposed

Department of Health proposals for access to over-the-counter medicines to be considered when assessing applications for NHS primary care list inclusion were opposed by pharmacy organisations last week.

In their responses to the DoH’s proposals to reform and modernise pharmaceutical services in England, the Company Chemists Association, the National Pharmacy Association and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee all questioned the appropriateness and feasibility of such assessment. “If the availability of over-the-counter medicines were to be taken into account by a primary care trust when considering an application for inclusion in a pharmaceutical list, then it would need also to consider the availability of such medicines from non-pharmacy retail outlets in the neighbourhood,” the PSNC’s response says. “This cannot be an appropriate matter for the PCT to consider and would in any event be almost impossible for the PCT to determine,” it adds.

All three organisations also reject the proposal that applications for minor relocation or change of ownership or services provided should incur charges, since, as the CCA says, the DoH’s proposal is designed to deter speculative and ill-informed applications, and such applications cannot be considered as such.

The CCA would prefer that no charge be levied for any pharmacy contract applications. The NPA and PSNC suggest instead that a charge of £500 be levied to deter speculative and blocking applications, but that successful applicants have their fee refunded. “Applications which are a genuine attempt to plug a gap and fill an unmet need should, when successful, have the associated charges refunded,” the NPA argues.