“Off-the-shelf” LPS contract developed by PSNC to support low-volume pharmacies
Low prescription volume: pharmacies affected may benefit from the
proposal |
Low-volume pharmacies and primary care trusts seeking to maintain the local pharmacy network may soon be able to benefit from an off-the-shelf contract developed by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee.
Steve Lutener, head of regulation at the PSNC, told The Journal that
the PSNC has been developing a proposal for a low-volume local pharmaceutical
service (LPS) for some time. At its January meeting the PSNC agreed the
terms it would take to the Department of Health. “We met DoH and
NHS Employers to discuss the proposals, and we expect to receive their
feedback soon,” he said.
The proposal is intended to form the basis for an off-the-shelf template
that PCTs and pharmacy contractors can use to meet local needs — each
low-volume pharmacy would also be able to work with its PCT to identify
particular local needs and adjust the LPS if necessary. Pharmacy contractors
who might be interested in the template are those who are committed to
providing high quality pharmaceutical services and who will probably
be seizing the opportunities presented by the pharmacy contractual framework
to provide advanced services as well as enhanced services that the PCT
wants to commission, Mr Lutener said.
Worries about PCTs’ abilities to plan strategically for pharmaceutical
services might also be allayed by the availability of the LPS, he added. “The
Government’s recent control of entry report showed that PCTs had
expressed concern that they did not have the ability to plan strategically
for pharmaceutical services. There was also concern that pharmacies opening
under the exemptions might destabilise or put at risk the local network
of pharmacies.
“The low-volume LPS may be just the tool needed by PCTs to help
ensure the continuation of the local network of pharmacies, including
where
volumes had fallen as a result of doctors moving to super-surgeries leaving
behind areas with no surgeries and patients reliant on their local pharmacies
for their health care needs.”
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