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Last month PSNC announced the long delayed funding settlement for 2014/15€¦ but what does it actually mean for those working at the coalface? Gary Warner, a member of PSNC's negotiating team, explains

YOU WILL HAVE READ about the funding settlement for 2014/15 and know that it is worth £2.8bn and comes with some advanced service and contractual framework changes. But are those of us working in pharmacies going to notice big differences?

Initially, the answer is no, certainly not from a financial perspective. The settlement effectively keeps funding stable; it should not result in big income swings. The £2.8bn may look like a big increase, but the £300m extra assured purchase margins reflect the excess margins we have earned and been allowed to keep previously €“ it is not new money. Pharmacies will see an increase in average item value of around 12p (across all items) but also a reduction in the practice payment of around 17p per item; so overall in the second half of the year they will earn around £870 less than in the first half €“ but that is entirely manageable.

The settlement effectively keeps funding stable

This is a good deal. Having the extra £300m margins agreed is a big win and protecting funding in a NHS in financial crisis and looking to make cuts was no easy task. But this settlement is about more than just money and some of the agreed changes will definitely have an impact on pharmacy practice. In particular I'll be advising my team to:

€¢ Renew efforts on the NMS The NMS has been recommissioned and we expect this and other medicines optimisation services to become increasingly important. So if you haven't already, now is the time to try the NMS, see it help your patients, and build it into your practice.

€¢ Think about CVD A new MUR target group will be introduced soon for patients who are prescribed four or more medicines, at least one of which is for cardiovascular disease or risk factors. From then, pharmacies will need to provide 70 per cent (up from 50 per cent) of their MURs to patients within the target groups. Look out for guidance at www.psnc.org.uk.

€¢ Reflect on incident reporting Pharmacies will need to begin including pharmacy names in reports of patient safety incidents to help NHS England share learning and identify any under-reporting. So let's reflect €“ are we really learning everything we can from the unavoidable errors we make and are we helping others to do so too? If not, it's time to change.

€¢ Get ready to audit In place of the former locally organised pharmacy audits, next year all pharmacies will take part in a national audit on the emergency supply of medicines. This is a real opportunity to show the NHS our work and its benefits. We're piloting the audit soon and will be sending out full details in due course, but I hope you can really get behind this.

€¢ Focus on repeat dispensing As part of efforts to increase uptake of the repeat dispensing service, pharmacies will be asked to identify patients who could benefit from it and give them advice. Full guidance on this will be issued, but for now it is worth reminding yourself about the service and thinking about who could benefit from it.

Clear commitment

The settlement indicates a clear commitment to expanding our roles beyond dispensing, which we expect to be built upon further in the future.

So focus on these services to start better supporting your patients, cementing our role at the heart of the NHS and securing the future of our businesses.