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The NPA has been busy preparing practical resources to help members free up time to care on the pharmacy frontline, says public affairs manager, Gareth Jones.

Despite the current Government's promise to blitz bureaucracy and its 'one in, two out' scheme for pruning regulation, cutting red tape is easier said than done. Community pharmacists can testify to the fact that there remains a good deal of meaningless box ticking in the health and social care systems across the UK.

The NPA, along with the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies and the Company Chemists' Association, took these concerns to the heart of Government under the umbrella of Pharmacy Voice. The NPA also issued a report in 2013, which called on the Welsh Government and local health boards to cut the bureaucratic burdens that fall on pharmacists.

€There remains a good deal of meaningless box ticking€

Tackling red tape

Reducing red tape was one of four workstreams we considered as part of our Manifesto for Independent Community Pharmacy. Following meetings and working groups held with NPA members around the country, we have launched the Red Tape & Time to Care Toolkit. This includes:

• A 'polite refusal' letter, which asks commissioners to justify requests for tasks that are not a professional or contractual requirement and where the patient benefit is not apparent
• A pharmacy deadline tracker, which includes a quarterly update on regulatory deadlines and activities for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• An activity planner to help plan administrative tasks across the year
• Support for getting quickly up-to-speed with the GPhC's CPD requirements
• Practice audits to save time on setting up the annual audit
• Signposting to a range of resources to achieve optimum efficiency in the pharmacy back office and in the delivery of services.

The toolkit is the third in a series of online resources to have been launched. The others are:

• A Medicines Supply Chain Toolkit, that includes template letters, such as one to drug manufacturers about audits of patient medication records, a patient leaflet explaining the background to the medicines shortages and a summary of restricted supply arrangements
• The Level Playing Field Toolkit, launched following complaints about GP practices allegedly directing patients to use a particular pharmacy in which they hold a financial interest. The toolkit includes guidance on how to challenge prescription direction, an overview of the legal and ethical rules, and a complaint form that patients can use to challenge prescription direction.

All three toolkits can be downloaded from www.npa.co.uk.