This site is intended for Healthcare Professionals only

Cuts consultation is about the “how” not the “how much”

Latest bookmark icon off

Cuts consultation is about the “how” not the “how much”

The consultation about the 6 per cent reduction in funding for community pharmacy in England is about how the cuts will be implemented rather than whether or not they will go ahead, the pharmacy minister has stated.

Alistair Burt said that, as a core part of the NHS’s primary care offering, community pharmacy has a role to play in helping to make the efficiency savings being applied across the board by the Treasury: “Of course it is uncomfortable, but it has to be done quickly… We can’t spend what we haven’t got.”

However, the Department of Health’s minister of state for community and social care stressed that while £170 million was being removed from the global sum, there would be a “still significant” £2.63 billion going into the sector in 2016/17.

“We want to secure efficiencies, not close pharmacies,” said Mr Burt, attempting to address what he termed the “uncertainty” that had arisen as a result of December’s open letter from the Government to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee.

Speaking at an event last week organised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and independent think tank The King’s Fund, the minister explained how the introduction of a pharmacy access scheme would ensure local populations were able to access pharmacy services in their communities.

Sector must innovate

Mr Burt urged the sector to continue to innovate. “It isn’t true to believe that cutting spending can’t deliver improvements… The future of pharmacy is in the clinical setting and this is something that has been set by pharmacy itself.”

A pharmacy integration fund is being set up to support this, with £20m allocated for year one (2017), which will concentrate on the deployment of clinical pharmacists in GP surgeries, care homes, and accident and emergency departments, as well as technology to support this work, he added.

The fund will rise by £20m each year, and was a demonstration of the DH’s commitment to the profession, continued Mr Burt. He invited ideas of ways in which the fund could be used, expressing his continuing interest in a national minor ailments scheme and his support for pharmacists having write as well as read access to patient records.

While hub and spoke dispensing models would enable more people to use click and collect services for their prescribed medication, the MP for North East Bedfordshire said that there was no DH ambition to drive everything online. “Pharmacies provide high quality face-to-face services, which is what people cherish most.”

Of course it is uncomfortable, but it has to be done quickly… We can’t spend what we haven’t got.

Copy Link copy link button

Latest

Discover the latest pharmacy news with daily updates and information to keep you in the know.

Share: