Pharmacists views on service redesign should be heard
Health minister Andy Burnham indicated last week that pharmacists should be given an opportunity to make their views about service redesign known.
Responding to a question from shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley
(Con, South Cambridgeshire), Mr Burnham said that local organisations
should decide who are the appropriate people to consult with on service
redesign. “All parties with an interest should be given a proper
opportunity to make their views known,” he said.
When asked what representations had been received from interested parties
on failure of primary care trusts to commission additional and enhanced
services from pharmacies under the new contract, Mr Burnham replied: “We
receive regular inquiries from patients, businesses and others interested
in the provision of pharmaceutical services under the new contractual
framework. It is for primary care trusts to determine, according to local
needs and available funds, whether or not they commission enhanced services
from community pharmacies.”
He added that the next statistical bulletin for 2005–06 on general
pharmaceutical services in England and Wales will contain information
on the extent to which PCTs have commissioned these services. |
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Pharmaceutical Journal
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