The 2009 LPC Conference, attended by over 280 delegates, discussed issues ranging from PCT issues, PNAs, funding, and supply issues, to CIP and reimbursement. Chris Hodges, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee’s (PSNC) chairman, opened the conference by reminding attendees of the previous year’s conference where the White Paper was mentioned.
Detailing PSNC’s priorities, Hodges detailed a group of planned activities in order to achieve the goal to ‘bring the new community pharmacy service envisaged in the pharmacy White Paper to fruition, securing fair, reliable and sustainable funding for contractors that incentives and rewards provision of new NHS services.’
The goals consist of PSNC:
• Supporting development and adoption of pharmacy services
• Agreeing relevant and manageable quality frameworks for provision of
NHS services
• Ensuring full and fair costing and funding for pharmacy services
• Agreeing effective frameworks for local service commissioning
• Supporting local contracting and provision of services from pharmacy
Lauding community pharmacy’s contribution to public health, Hodges termed it as a benefit not only for the public but the NHS as well. ‘Community pharmacy can help manage the big public health challenges of modern times – obesity, smoking, alcohol, sexual health. We can help manage long-term conditions – diabetes, asthma and heart disease. We can deal with minor ailments, and help people stay out of A&E or the GP’s surgery when they don’t need to go there. We can help deliver the government’s targets for vascular risk assessment of everyone in this country aged between 44 and 75. And we can help the healthy stay healthy.’
Hodges also spoke of how MURs have demonstrated the power of community pharmacy to extend its role in patient care. ‘In the last financial year, 73 per cent of all pharmacies in England provided MURs. In the financial year to the end of March 2009, we are on target for 1.3 million MURs.
‘The next piece is how to ensure that MURs are properly integrated into primary care services and how to ensure consistent quality, targeting of the service, and that the value of the MUR to patients is understood.’
Sue Sharpe, PSNC chief executive, highlighted some of the core issues affecting community pharmacy. ‘Most of you have stories to tell of poor commissioning or administration by PCTs,’ she said. ‘Sometimes the PCT responds with claims of poor delivery by pharmacies. We all need to move on from this – understand what has gone wrong and make progress for the future.
It is vital to get over negativity wherever it lies. Whilst the nationally agreed services and funding will continue to be the foundation for the community pharmacy business, local services contracting will become increasingly important as a source of revenue. Local contractors and LPCs will have greater responsibility than before for identifying and negotiating their role as service providers.
With an increasing focus on local service commissioning we need to ensure that the workload burden for independent pharmacy contractors remains manageable. It is already very heavy, and the independent today does not have the time and capacity to deal with large and complex documentation. We are committed to support independent contractors, all contractors. Manageability is vital.’
Following the conference, over 400 guests attended the annual PSNC annual where members of both houses of Parliament, PCT and SHA managers, LPCs and other health organisations were amongst the guests. Phil Hope, pharmacy minister, gave enthusiastic support for community pharmacy.
‘We do see and we do value your hard work, the way you’re driving the agenda forward,’ Hope said. ‘In Corby, we will be developing a new public strategy to tackle obesity and a strategy to reduce cardio-vascular disease and I have no doubt that pharmacies will play a key role.’
Hope also stressed the importance of MURs in community pharmacy and lauded the efforts that have been undertaken. ‘MURs are making their mark,’ he said. ‘But its not just about how many are being undertaken. The outcomes are what really matter and recent research shows that they are reducing drug therapy problems by more than 60 per cent.’
Quoting a Portsmouth University study, Hopes said that 87 per cent of asthma patients who had received an MUR felt more knowledgeable about their condition and over 90 per cent felt more knowledgeable about their medication. MUR, according to the minister, are cutting hospital admissions and emergency admissions due to asthma have dropped by over 50 per cent according to research on the Isle of Wight with the associated deaths have fallen by a remarkable 75 per cent.
Sharpe ended her speech by stating that despite that grim economic conditions, funding for contractors has improved. ‘Community pharmacies are doing a great job for their patients, and between the LPC and PSNC, we have great opportunities to grasp as we implement the White Paper.’
© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business April 2009.
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