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April 2008
Mike Smith P3 Column – Pharmacy Can Deliver - But Will
It Be Allowed To?
I have read and heard some tremendous stories of pharmacists
who have excelled in the provision of specialist services in recent weeks and
this gives me much encouragement for the future of pharmacy as a healthcare
service provider. However, the sad fact is that pharmacists are doing this not
because of the pharmacy contract, but in spite of it.
Pharmacy has so much to offer and the DH has recognised this but sadly, yet
again, it is not putting its money where its mouth is. Meanwhile the cash flow
of independent pharmacies, indeed all pharmacies, is being seriously affected
by the Category M changes. I have heard from several contractors who have had
to go back to the bank “cap in hand” for an overdraft to pay their wholesaler
bills, and I have said many times that I am not sure if the Government has got
its sums right, despite the fact that the PSNC assures us otherwise. The
problem is made worse by the fact that pharmacists are paying their accounts
with these first reduced payments, in what are the heaviest dispensing months
of the year.
The DH is in real danger of putting pharmacy in England at a disadvantage
compared to Scotland and now even Wales, who seem to be organising themselves
more efficiently and getting things done! The latest plan from the Welsh
Assembly to extend pharmacy’s role in the management of chronic conditions is a
positive sign, and it seems that across the NHS in Wales they do seem to have
the interests of the patient at heart, with the abolition of hospital parking
charges being another welcome development. Meanwhile Scotland is forging ahead
with the minor ailments scheme and a determined drive to get pharmacists
prescribing. This has to be the way forward across the profession but I see
little progress in England.
The Darzi review is the latest in a long series of such reviews into the NHS but
I read that this is ‘the big one’ and will shape the service for years to come.
UniChem and Alliance Boots are inputting into the consultation and I also urge
you all to make your voices heard with the pharmacy representative on the
review panel - Andy Murdock, Director of Pharmacy at Lloyds Pharmacy. I spoke
to Andy at a recent APPG meeting at Westminster and I know that he is very keen
to hear your views. It is vital that the opinions of all contractors, both
multiples and independents, are heard. The fact is that the grass roots
pharmacists delivering healthcare on a day to day basis are the individuals
whose views are the most important.
However, it is important that we are not just seen to be ‘whingers’. We must
approach the Darzi review with a clear strategy for community pharmacy moving
forward, including what we can do, exactly where we fit in the provision of
primary care and what a tremendously cost effective resource we are to the NHS.
We must also make clear our growing frustration at the inability to access
funds for the additional services envisaged under the pharmacy contract.
Whatever Ms Primarolo says this is just not happening.
Finally, we must also express our concerns over the suggestion for polyclinics.
This will destabilise the distribution of pharmacies and inevitably rob some
communities of a vital local amenity. I also remain concerned about the
continued number of 100-hour applications. This coupled with some high ticket
contract relocations means that we all need to be on our toes. Keep your ear to
the ground!
No one can deny that frontline pharmacists are delivering a tremendous service
to the communities they serve every day. A real opportunity exists for our
profession to really improve the health of the nation. The weight management
service in Coventry is a classic example of this and I hope that these
opportunities are not wasted.
Good luck!
Mike Smith
mike.h.smith@unichem.co.uk
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