Government plans further review of control of entry
Regulations that govern the way in which new pharmacy contracts are awarded in England will be subject to further Government scrutiny, health minister Andy Burnham announced last week.
In a statement issued alongside the report of the Government’s
latest
review of the control of entry system, Mr Burnham said: “We
have decided that it would not be prudent to propose further major changes
to the current system, either in terms of moving towards greater regulation
or imposing tighter restrictions. … We have concluded that the time
is right to consider how we can best shift the focus away from a system
that is largely a legacy of the last century to more modern and reformed
contractual arrangements that can better meet the health needs and challenges
of this century.
The review will be completed by March and undertaken by Anne Galbraith,
who in 2003 chaired an advisory group which examined the introduction
of the control of entry regulations. Mr Burnham added: “We shall
review what action is needed to allow primary care trusts to have more
powers to commission … to secure adequate service provision to meet
local health needs, while ensuring the opportunities to maximise choice
and contestability within a reformed system are not lost.”
The Government’s decision to undertake a further review will lead
to uncertainty for contractors, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee said in a statement. “Many contractors will have been
surprised to learn that there will be another review of control of entry
arrangements. Independents and multiples alike make significant investments
to provide services to patients — many have recently invested heavily
to implement the pharmacy contract. This adds a further period of uncertainty
about the future, which will not be welcomed.”
The National Pharmacy Association and Numark have both welcomed the decision
not to make any immediate changes to the control of entry system. NPA
chief executive John D’Arcy said: “I agree with the report’s
assessment that it is too early to judge the impact of the revised control
of entry provisions, so I’m pleased to see that there won’t
be any changes rushed through.”
Numark managing director Simon Colebeck commented: “Numark is pleased
to see that there will be no further relaxation of exemptions. …
This further period of reflection may well expose the shortcomings in
the control of entry amendments as they stand at the moment.”
News feature p70 |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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