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Fay Bradley, MA (Econ), and Rebecca
Elvey, MA (Econ), are research associates, Darren
Ashcroft, PhD, MRPharmS, is director
of the Centre for Innovation in Practice and Peter Noyce,
PhD, FRPharmS, is professor of pharmacy practice at the University of
Manchester.
Correspondence to:
Rebecca Elvey,
Centre for Innovation in Practice, The Workforce Academy, School
of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
e-mail
rebecca.elvey@manchester.ac.uk |
Abstract
Aim
To identify (i) the enhanced services primary care trusts had commissioned, (ii) whether the service had been commissioned before the start of the new community pharmacy contract, (iii) the contractual option used, (iv) the number of community pharmacies providing the service and (v) their plans for commissioning in the future.
Design
A self-completion questionnaire.
Subjects and setting
All PCTs in England.
Results
The response rate was 74%. The enhanced services commissioned by most PCTs
were supervised administration (88%), needle and syringe exchange (85%)
and stop-smoking (77%).
The services commissioned least by PCTs were gluten free foods (2%), home
delivery (2%) and schools service (1%).
In terms of the number of community pharmacies providing enhanced services, stop-smoking was the most widespread, provided
by 2,118 community pharmacies (36%). 81% of all enhanced services commissioned
across all PCTs had been commissioned before implementation of the new
contract.
In terms of numbers, stop-smoking was the service commissioned by most
PCTs after the implementation of the new contract (43 PCTs). The service
with the highest level of commitment to commission in the next 12 months
was minor ailments.
Service level agreements were by far the most frequently used contractual
arrangement by PCTs (69% of all enhanced services).
Conclusion
The impact of the new contract on enhanced service commissioning levels
has been modest. Commissioning of services for substance misuse and smoking
cessation are high, mapping onto national priorities for public health.
Full article PDF 40K |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal