Indicative rates for enhanced services set in Wales
Agreed indicative rates
|
Care home support service (annual fees based
on two visits per
annum)
<10 beds |
£253.74 |
10–30 beds |
£388.63 |
31–50 beds |
£500.06 |
51–70 beds |
£711.21 |
|
Minor ailment service
Annual fee |
£134.45 |
Consultation fee |
£3.46 |
|
Pharmaceutical rota services
Weekday |
£61.20 |
Saturday (if open) |
£76.50 |
Saturday (if closed) |
£153.00 |
Sunday |
£153.00 |
Bank Holiday |
£153.00 |
Special Bank Holiday |
£306.00 |
|
Community Pharmacy Wales and local health boards in Wales have developed “indicative rates” for the provision of three national enhanced services, it was announced last week. Concerns had previously been raised that establishing benchmark prices for enhanced services could contravene the Competition Act.
The rates for Wales have been agreed for care home support, minor ailments
and pharmaceutical rota (out of hours) services. CPW and the LHBs are
also in discussions to agree rates for syringe and needle exchange and
supervised administration of medicines.
In March, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee explained
in Community Pharmacy News that primary care organisations could risk
contravening the Competition Act if they discuss pricing among themselves
before entering into agreements with local pharmaceutical committees
on the pricing of enhanced services.
However, Catherine Stanley, business and contracts manager at CPW, explained
to The Journal that the implications of the Competition Act had been
fully considered when drawing up the rates for Wales and the explanation
of them. “Indicative rates,” CPW says, “are intended
to be rates that are perceived by all parties to the negotiation as being
fair rates for the provision of the service as specified in the national
enhanced services templates.”
CPW says that both it and LHBs nonetheless recognise that some enhanced
services may differ from those described in the national templates and
so payment for these may vary accordingly.
“Where this is the case the service will be considered a locally
revised national enhanced service and agreement on a remuneration rate
for the
service will be reached between the LHB and the appropriate CPW regional
committee utilising guidance provided by PSNC,” CPW says.
Steve Lutener, head of regulation for the PSNC, told The Journal that
in England benchmark prices could be established, without contravening
the Competition Act, if they were agreed by the PSNC, the Department
of Health and the NHS Executive, so long as there was freedom to negotiate
terms within the services. He also said that the Office of Fair Trading
had told the PSNC that it did not believe that publishing historical
data on the pricing of enhanced services would contravene the Competition
Act. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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