THE VOICE OF COMMUNITY PHARMACY
Volume 20 No 273
December 2024
www.pharmacy.biz
PATIENT SAFETY MORE
CRITICAL THAN EVER
Expansion of clinical
services in pharmacies
NEW YEAR ACTION ON
THE CARDS
Ballot results shows
widespread discontent
DISCOVERING NEW
HORIZONS
Prison pharmacies remain
an untapped market
Meditech, for your peace of mind.
www.meditech-pharma.co.uk
Speed without
compromise.
800 picking heads doing the job.
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CONTENTS
DECEMBER 2024 3
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NEWS
4 Pharmacy owners vote to withdraw services
5 Former Health Secretary to help reform NHS
6 Sudlow review recommends setting up national
health data service
BIG INTERVIEW
8 NPA tells us their planned collective action is
‘more than just a scare tactic’
BUSINESS PROTECTION
15 Vinku Shah explains the importance of key
person(s) insurance in pharmacy business
SPECIAL REPORT
13 Kaniksha Sharma on the untapped potential of
prison pharmacy
PHARMACY BUSINESS AWARDS 2024
17 Recognising and celebrating the very best of
community pharmacies
GUEST COLUMN
38 Trevor Gore on behavioural economics and pharmacy
YEAR END REPORT
40 IQIVIA’s analysis of trends, challenges and
developments in the UK pharmacy sector
AWARD WINNER
43 Rachna Chhatralia advocates for more women in
pharmacy leadership to drive positive change
VIEWPOINT
49 Adele Curran West explores the future potential
of English pharmacies
FINANCE
50 Jill Kaur looks at how inheritance tax changes
could impact community pharmacy
INNOVATION
51 Michael Holden takes us through the innovative
pharmacy-clinic model at LIPS Pharmacy Battersea
AWARD WINNER
55 Wole Ososami reveals Westbury Chemist’s
winning formula
TECHNOLOGY
59 Dr. Yasmin Karsan highlights the most promising
applications of AI in the pharmacy sector
SMOKING CESSATION
61 Thorrun Govind emphasises pharmacists’ key
role as accessible healthcare professionals
SKIN PROBLEMS
63 Ade Williams and Safa Karma Jilal on how
community pharmacy helps patients combat winter
skin woes
WOMEN’S HEALTH
69 Unlocking the potential of OTC medicines with
Maxwellia CEO Anna Maxwell
CAPABILITY BUILDING
71 Tarina Shah shares insights on how pharmacies
can thrive by leveraging character strengths
TIME OUT
74 Victoria Steele shares insights from her recent
experience at LP Healthcare Services
Adele Curran
Vinku Shah
Trevor Gore
Michael Holden
Thorrun Govind
Tarina Shah
Dr. Yasmin Karsan
CONTRIBUTORS:
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4 DECEMBER 2024
Paul Rees steps down as NPA chief
executive
Paul Rees has resigned as CEO of the National
Pharmacy Association (NPA) to become interim
chief executive and registrar of the Nursing and
Midwifery Council
(NMC).
He will begin his
one-year contract with
the NMC on January
20, where he will
lead the development
of a multi-year
programme aimed
at transforming the
organisation’s culture
and performance.
Paul said: “It will be a real wrench to leave
and it’s been a decision I’ve had to wrestle with.
I have been deeply affected by working with the
NPA – community pharmacy will always have
a special place in my heart, even as I move into
another part of the healthcare sector.”
“Despite loving the NPA, the pull of helping
the NMC to eliminate racism and bullying
from within the organisation, embed a positive
and inclusive culture, and improve the quality
of patient care through the regulation of, and
support for, the UK’s 826,000 nurses, midwives
and nursing associates, is just too great.”
NPA chair Nick Kaye praised Paul’s
contributions over the last year, stating: “I’m
enormously grateful to Paul and the brilliant
NPA team who are doing so much to raise the
profile of community pharmacy, campaign for a
better deal and improve our outstanding support
to members.”
The NPA plans to appoint its next chief
executive early in the new year.
Pharmacy owners vote to withdraw
services
Community pharmacies are bracing
themselves to withdraw services from patients
after an industry ballot supported plans for
major action unless the government provided a
significant increase in funding for the sector.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA)
on 14 November announced the results of an
unprecedented collective action ballot in which
nearly all pharmacy owners, who participated in
the ballot, voted to limit their services, insisting
that a lack of additional funding is jeopardising
patients health and safety.
Over 63% of NPA members in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland took part in
the ballot– representing 3,049 independent
community pharmacies in England alone,
or 3,399 with Wales and Northern Ireland
included.
Nearly 98% of pharmacy owners in England
voted to reduce their opening hours to the
minimum required by their contract.
More than 93% voted to stop offering
“unfunded” free home deliveries of medicines,
and over 96 per cent voted to withdraw from
locally commissioned services, including
certain addiction support, emergency
contraception, and stop smoking services.
Commenting on the ballot result, NPA
chair Nick Kaye said: “Pharmacies don’t want
to reduce services but we will be left with no
option but to suggest that pharmacy owners
should consider acting on the clear ballot results
if government does not act to protect this vital
and much-loved part of our health service.”
Antibiotic-resistant infections exceed
pre-pandemic levels
The UK recorded an estimated 66,730
serious antibiotic-resistant infections in 2023,
surpassing the pre-pandemic figure of 62,314 in
2019, a new report from the UK Health Security
Agency (UKHSA) has revealed.
The English Surveillance of Antibiotic
Prescribing and Utilisation Report (ESPAUR)
published by the UKHSA showed that E. coli
– a common cause of urinary tract infections,
diarrhoea, vomiting and fever, accounted for
65 per cent of antibiotic-resistant bloodstream
infections in the last five years.
Antibiotic use rose by 2.4 per cent in 2023
compared to 2022, with prescribing levels
returning to those last seen in 2019. Penicillins
were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics
in both primary and secondary care.
Professor Dame Jenny Harries, CEO of
UKHSA, said: “Increasingly the first antibiotics
that patients receive aren’t effective at tackling
their infections. That’s not just an inconvenience
– it means they are at greater risk of developing
a severe infection and sepsis.
“Our declining ability to treat and prevent
infections is having an increasing impact,
particularly on our poorest communities.”
Unauthorised shipment of weight
loss drugs from UK pharmacy seized
in the US
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
officers at the port of Cincinnati seized two
unapproved shipments of weight loss drugs,
including one from a UK pharmacy, last month.
On 5 October, CBP officers seized a
shipment declared as “cosmetic weight loss
product” and found containing Mounjaro
injectable pens of multiple doses (2.5mg, 5mg,
and 7mg).
The shipment, arriving from a UK pharmacy
and heading to a residence in Ohio, violated the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA),
according to a U.S. Customs and Border
Protection report.
Cincinnati CBP officers on 14 October
intercepted another shipment, which was also
destined for an Ohio residence.
This shipment from Hong Kong contained
20 vials of Semaglutide 10 mg and 150
Tirzepatide 30 mg, with a domestic value of
$45,450.
Imported drugs are required to meet FDA
standards for quality, safety, and effectiveness.
However, CBP has noted that very few
online pharmacies comply with U.S. pharmacy
regulations, posing health risks to consumers,
who purchase what they believe is a genuine
product at a much lower cost.
Accord’s Clara Carter named
chair of BGMA’s new women’s
networking group
The British Generic Manufacturers
Association (BGMA), the representative
trade association for off-patent medicines, has
established a new Women’s Networking Group
aimed at fostering learning, networking, and
career development opportunities for women in
the generic and biosimilar medicines industry.
Clara Carter, UK country manager of
generics at Accord Healthcare, has been elected
as the first chair of the group, and Elaine Holisz,
strategic engagement director at Advanz, as its
vice chair.
Clara expressed her enthusiasm for the
initiative, saying, “This
is a really important
association initiative
which will cover a
wide range of topics
and issues.”
“At its heart, I
want it to be about
identifying and
nurturing talent and
breeding confidence
in future industry
leaders. We will offer
mentoring and speaker opportunities among a
wide range of potential activities.”
With over two decades of experience in
the off-patent medicines industry, Clara is
committed to providing participants with
practical insights and guidance.
Parliamentarians urge Wes Streeting
to support pharmacies
A group of 20 parliamentarians have written
to health secretary Wes Streeting MP, calling
for urgent government action to address the
growing financial crisis facing community
pharmacies.
In the cross-party letter, supported by
Community Pharmacy England (CPE), the MPs
warned of a real risk of more pharmacy closures,
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NEWS Quarterly News Round-up
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NEWS
with one in six pharmacy owners saying that
they are unsure if their pharmacy will survive
the year.
They have urged the Department of Health
and Social Care and NHS England to prioritise
long-term planning for pharmacies, including
the implementation of the Community
Pharmacist Prescribing Service.
The MPs have also highlighted the need for
more effective marketing for Pharmacy First
to increase both walk-ins and referrals to this
critical service.
CPE chief executive Janet Morrison
welcomed the support of 20 cross-party
parliamentarians and stressed the urgent need
for immediate government intervention to
ensure the survival of the sector.
Janet said: “Right now community
pharmacy is on the verge of a house of cards
style collapse, but it has so much to offer if it is
put on a sustainable footing.
“We are ready to take forward discussions
on the future: pharmacy needs answers on the
contractual framework for this year and to be in
a position to plan for the future.”
Covid Inquiry questions DHSC on
NPA evidence
At the recent Covid Inquiry, Sir Chris
Wormald, permanent secretary at the
Department of Health and Social Care, was
questioned about the initial exclusion of
community pharmacies in the government’s
emergency pandemic life assurance scheme.
Earlier this month, the National Pharmacy
Association submitted evidence to the inquiry
highlighting the delay in including community
pharmacies in the scheme – which offered
£60,000 lump sum payments to NHS and care
home staff who died from Covid.
The inquiry heard that the scheme was
launched on April 27, 2020, initially covering
NHS and care home staff. However, then Health
Secretary Matt Hancock only confirmed the
inclusion of community pharmacy staff in a
Tweet three days later, on April 30.
NPA Chair Nick Kaye told the inquiry
that it was “demoralising and demotivating”
to community pharmacy staff who worked
throughout the pandemic.
Sir Wormald explained that the Treasury
had not approved the inclusion of community
pharmacies in the scheme but they were
included under discretionary arrangements.
He said: “I think that wherever you draw
the line there are terrible cases where you think
morally we should pay on the other side of the
line.
“Having a discretionary scheme that allowed
you to pay money to people who didn’t qualify
is a very good idea.”
NHS England rolls our anti-smoking
pill Varenicline
Tens of thousands of smokers in England will
be offered an improved anti-smoking pill by the
NHS to help them quit.
NHS England has announced the rollout
of a new generic version of Champix, called
Varenicline, which has been proven to be as
effective as vapes and more successful than
nicotine replacement gum or patches.
When used alongside behavioural support,
such as counselling, the daily pill has been
shown to help one in four smokers quit for at
least six months.
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard
called the introduction of Varenicline a
“vital step in shifting NHS further towards
prevention” and highlighted that it could be a
“game-changer” for people who want to quit
smoking.
Varenicline is being made available through
a collaboration between NHS England and Teva
UK.
Research from University College London
suggests that Varenicline could help over 85,000
people try to quit smoking each year and prevent
up to 9,500 smoking-related deaths over the
next five years.
Nurse dies after using weight-loss
drug tirzepatide
A 58-year-old nurse from North Lanarkshire,
Scotland, has reportedly died after taking the
weight-loss drug tirzepatide, which was recently
approved for use on the NHS.
Susan McGowan died from multiple organ
failure, septic shock and pancreatitis, with the
use of the Eli Lilly drug listed as a contributing
factor on her death certificate, according to the
BBC.
She had taken two low-dose injections
of tirzepatide, known by the brand name
Mounjaro, over a two-week period before her
death on 4 September. Her death is thought to be
the first in the U.K. officially linked to the drug.
McGowan, who had worked for over
30 years as a nurse at University Hospital
Monklands in Airdrie, purchased a prescription
for the drug through a registered online
pharmacy.
A few days after her second injection,
McGowen began experiencing severe
stomach pains and sickness. She went to
A&E at Monklands – where her colleagues
Quarterly News Round-up
DECEMBER 2024 5
tried to save her life.
Within days, her kidneys failed, and she fell
into a coma as her other organs began to fail.
Former Health Secretary to help
reform NHS
Former Health Secretary Alan Milburn
has been appointed as the lead non-executive
member of the Department of Health and
Social Care’s (DHSC) board to support the
government’s ambitious NHS reform agenda.
He will succeed Samantha Jones, who
has served as a non-executive director since
February 2023.
Milburn, known for his successful track
record in reducing NHS waiting lists and
improving patient satisfaction, will offer advice
to help rebuild an NHS fit for the future.
Expressing his enthusiasm to be appointed
to this role, Milburn said, “Having spent three
decades working in health policy, I have never
seen the NHS in a worse state. Big reforms will
be needed to make it fit for the future.
“I am confident this government has the right
plans in place to transform the health service
and the health of the nation.
“I’m looking forward to working with them
to achieve that mission.”
Milburn’s appointment was made directly by
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting,
following consultation with the Commissioner
for Public Appointments, in compliance with
the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
NHSE relaunches Pharmacy First
campaign
NHS England relaunched its Pharmacy
First public-facing campaign on 11 November,
with minor updates to the original campaign
materials, including additional information on
the age criteria for the clinical pathways.
Campaign materials, such as toolkit, social
media assets, and posters, are available on
the Department of Health and Social Care’s
Campaign Resource Centre website.
Meanwhile, Community Pharmacy England
(CPE) has highlighted the need for a sustained,
large-scale effort to maximize the service’s
impact.
CPE chief executive Janet Morrison
said: “It’s good that we are finally seeing
the resumption of the NHS Pharmacy First
marketing campaign, alongside new resources
to help with promotion, as we head into winter.
“But we need this to be part of a much bigger,
6 DECEMBER 2024
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NEWS Quarterly News Round-up
ongoing public awareness campaign to ensure
the service has maximum impact.”
She stresses that a long-term campaign is
essential to increase patient referrals from GP
practices and NHS 111.
RSV infections lead to 640,000
antibiotic prescriptions a year
A study suggested that interventions to reduce
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infections,
including the new vaccine programme, could
lower antibiotic use and, in turn, reduce
antibiotic resistance.
While antibiotics are ineffective against
viruses, they are sometimes prescribed in
primary care because it is difficult to distinguish
between bacterial and viral infections.
The study conducted by the UK Health
Security Agency (UKHSA), Imperial College
London, and Oxford Population Health, found
that RSV infections result in 640,000 antibiotic
prescriptions a year.
Approximately 2.1% of antibiotic
prescriptions in English GPs were linked
to RSV infections, with the highest number
prescribed to those over 75 and infants.
Dr. Lucy Miller, a co-author of the study and
Modeller at UKHSA, stressed the importance
of reducing antibiotic use to address antibiotic
resistance.
“To tackle antibiotic resistance we need to
ensure antibiotics are being used only when
necessary. But we also need to drive down
infections, to reduce the need for antibiotics in
the first place.”
Analysis predicts that RSV vaccination
programme could prevent 70,000 RSV illnesses
in infants under 12 months and 60,000 illnesses
in eligible older adults.
Return unused medicines to
pharmacies
The NHS in Suffolk and North East Essex has
launched a new campaign to reduce the amount
of unused medicines that cost the NHS around
£300 million a year.
Across the UK, it is estimated that £100
million worth of medicines are returned to
pharmacies, with an additional £90 million of
unused prescription medicines stored in homes.
People are encouraged to return unused
prescriptions to pharmacies and avoid
stockpiling or throwing them away.
Tania Farrow, who is leading the campaign
on behalf of NHS Suffolk and North East Essex
Integrated Care Board (ICB), highlighted
that everyone has a part to play in reducing
medicines waste.
“It is an issue where patients, GPs,
pharmacists and hospitals can all work together
to make a difference,” she said.
Patients are advised to keep no more than a
one-month supply at home and to review their
medicine stock before placing new orders.
Anyone unsure about their medicines should
consult their pharmacist or GP practice., she
noted.
Pharmacies ‘deeply worried’ about
National Insurance rise
The new Labour government’s first budget
has not been well received by community
pharmacies, who are ‘deeply worried’ about the
increase in National Insurance and the national
living wage.
They have also voiced their dissatisfaction
with the Autumn Budget 2024 for lacking
measures to address pharmacy closures.
Commenting on the Chancellor’s Budget,
Paul Rees, CEO of the National Pharmacy
Association (NPA) said: “There’s absolutely
no mention in the Budget of action to halt the
closure of our vital NHS pharmacy network,
which has been shrinking at the rate of seven a
week as pharmacies are forced to close through
underfunding.”
Furthermore, he said that the increase in
National Insurance and the national living wage
will add further pressure on pharmacies that
are already struggling to remain open due to
funding cuts.
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the
CCA, has underscored that importance of
investing in community pharmacy to deliver the
government’s three big shifts in healthcare.
He said: “It is very likely that increases to
employer NIC, the national minimum wage and
business rates will further negatively impact
on investment and jobs across the pharmacy
network.
Sudlow review recommends setting
up national health data service
Major health, care and research bodies,
including the Department of Health and Social
Care and the Office for National Statistics,
should establish a national health data service
in England to improve patient care and
research – an NHS-commissioned review has
recommended.
Professor Cathie Sudlow’s independent
review of the UK health data landscape
concluded that “complex and inefficient” data
systems prevent and delay crucial analysis of
health conditions affecting millions of people
across the UK.
The review — ‘Uniting the UK’s health
data: a huge opportunity for society’, published
on 8 November 2024 — stressed the need for
coordinated action across multiple organisations
and stakeholders to ensure the greatest benefits
for patients and the public from health-relevant
data.
Professor Sudlow said: “We are simply not
maximising the benefits to society from the rich
abundance of health data in the UK.
“Far too often research about health
conditions affecting millions of people
across the UK is prevented or delayed by the
complexity of our data systems. We are letting
patients and their families down as a result.
This review shows that getting this right holds a
great prize, for our own care and for an effective
NHS.”
Dr Joanne Brown receives inaugural
Barnett Award at RPS Annual
Conference
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society
(RPS) honoured Dr Joanne Brown with
the inaugural Barnett Award at its Annual
Conference today, recognising her exceptional
commitment to mentorship and professional
development in pharmacy.
As Clinical
Education Lead at
the Northern Health
and Social Care Trust
in Northern Ireland
for over 15 years, Dr
Brown has played
a pivotal role in
supporting pharmacy
professionals at all
career stages – from
undergraduate students
to consultant-level practitioners.
Her work spans a wide range of activities,
including developing curriculum materials,
organising workshops and mentoring pharmacy
teams.
She has also led initiatives to improve
learning systems across Northern Ireland,
partnering with schools of pharmacy and
contributing to international education
committees.
Beyond her formal duties, Dr Brown has
mentored more than 50 individuals through
postgraduate training.
She actively encourages personal growth
through tailored guidance, creating a supportive
culture and positively impacting pharmacy
education across various sectors.
Multiple Pharmacy of the Year
Congratulations
Asda Pharmacy
Lower Earley, Reading
Left to right: Shailesh Solanki; Stephen Kinnock MP, Health and Social Care Minister; Yasser Abboud, Asda Pharmacy
Manager, Lower Earley; Diane DiGangi Trench, Country Head, Sandoz UK & Ireland; Kalpesh Solanki and Rory Bremner
Sponsor of the Pharmacy Business Awards 2024
MLR-1358-UK Nov 2024
BIG INTERVIEW
Paul Rees
8 DECEMBER 2024
Paul Rees has urged the
government to be transparent
with the sector on negotiations
for a new pharmacy contract,
Sarwar Alam reports...
t was an unprecedented move, to call for
the first ballot in the 103-year history of the
National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and
now, outgoing chief executive officer Paul Rees,
has warned that its more than just a scare tactic
and pharmacies will go through with action
January if there isn’t an acceptable resolution
forthcoming from the government.
“We’re looking for the government to
consider our ballot, digest the results, and then
come up with a proper proposal for community
pharmacy - a fair deal,” Rees told Pharmacy
Business a few days before it was announced he
would become the Interim Chief Executive and
Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council
from January 20th.
“If that’s not forthcoming, we’ve got a board
meeting in a couple of weeks, we then need to
decide when to take action, but we would be
looking at taking action in January.”
The NPA announced the results of the
collective action ballot on November 14th
in which nearly all pharmacy owners, who
participated in the ballot, voted to limit their
services, insisting that a lack of additional
funding is jeopardising patient health and safety.
“Our members have voted, they’ve spoken
clearly, and unless the government come up with
a fair deal soon, we will regrettably have to move
to the next step, which is calling for action,” said
Rees.
The NPA estimates about 700 pharmacies
have shut in England in the last two years, with
more than 1,250 closing in the last decade and
three quarters struggling with debt.
“The global sum for community pharmacy 10
years ago was £2.6 billion. Today, that sum is still
£2.6 billion,” said
“There’s been inflation. There have been
utility bill increases, there have been national
living wage increases. Community pharmacies
had no increase (in-line with inflation) from the
NHS or the government.”
Rees added that in real terms, what this means
is that funding has fallen by 40 per cent after
adjusting for inflation since 2015/16.
“Community pharmacies are actually
delivering more services. Pharmacy First is a
good example of that. They’re dispensing more
medicines because the average person is taking
more medication, so they’re doing more and
more work for less and less money.
“They reach a tipping point when they can’t
keep delivering services that are safe for patients.
They feel they’ve reached the point when they
need to start reducing services in order to ensure
that they can still honour patient safety.”
Rees revealed the strength of turnout by
community pharmacies for the ballot exceeded
what he had expected and showed the level of
desperation that pharmacy owners are feeling at
the moment.
Over 63 per cent of NPA members in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part
in the ballot– representing 3,049 independent
community pharmacies in England alone, or
3,399 with Wales and Northern Ireland included.
Nearly 98 per cent of pharmacy owners in
England voted to reduce their opening hours to
the minimum required by their contract. This
could result in fewer pharmacies remaining open
during evenings and weekends.
More than 93 per cent voted to stop offering
“unfunded” free home deliveries of medicines,
and over 96 per cent voted to withdraw from
locally commissioned services, including certain
addiction support, emergency contraception, and
stop smoking services.
Almost all voted to refuse cooperation with
data requests from other healthcare providers
beyond what is necessary for patient safety and
contractual requirements.
The majority of pharmacy owners also voted
to stop supplying free monitored dose systems
(medicine packs) that are not funded by the
NHS, except those covered by the Disability
Discrimination Act.
“The extent to which pharmacy owners are
prepared to reduce services did surprise me in
one respect, but having said that, the level of
anger and desperation is clear when you go and
speak to them,” said Rees.
“There’s a state of emergency, there’s a
crisis within community pharmacy. There are
pharmacists taking out loans, second mortgages,
borrowing money from relatives, taking money
out of pension pots because every month they are
dispensing medicines and they’re not being fully
reimbursed by the NHS.
“They’re doing work on behalf of the state
and they’re not being paid for it, so the money’s
going to come from somewhere.
“The reason there haven’t been more closures
is that so many pharmacy owners are dedicated to
their communities that they carry on working.”
He added that the timing of the Budget
further exasperated the difficult situations the
many community pharmacies find themselves
in.
From April 2025, the national living wage
New Year action on the cards, says N
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DECEMBER 2024 9
will increase 6.7 per cent to £12.21 per hour, and
the national minimum wage for 18–20-year-olds
will increase 16.3 per cent to £10 per hour.
The Budget saw a hike in the amount
employers pay in National Insurance
contributions. From April, the rate will rise
from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, and the salary
threshold at which it is paid will fall from £9,100
a year to £5,000.
The NHS and rest of the public sector are
exempt from the tax rise, but not pharmacies
or GPs.
Rees said this was emblematic of the way that
pharmacy and to a lesser extent, GPs, have been
treated by government and the NHS.
“When the government and the NHS think
about the health service, they think of hospitals.
They think of hospital care. They think of
secondary care,” he said.
“When they do think about primary care,
they think about GPs and often forget about
pharmacy.
“Community pharmacy is always the bottom
of the pile – it is treated as a third-class citizen
within the NHS and by the government.
“That’s why, yet again, these changes in
the Budget are being covered for hospitals,
they’re not being covered for community
pharmacy. That is the way that community
pharmacy has been treated for years. That’s
why community pharmacy is now in the
desperate state that it is in.”
Health secretary Wes Streeting
has criticised the NPA’s call to action
describing it as “unhelpful degree of sabre
rattling” and warning that it will “harm
patients” and “put pressure” on other parts
of the healthcare system.
Streeting urged community
pharmacies to work with the government
and be part of the government’s 10-year
plan to transform the NHS.
Rees hit back insisting that the
government’s lack of clarity over
funding and when the pharmacy
contract will be announced was one of
the reasons behind the ballot.
“The deal that we’re talking about
now should have been announced in
April, we’re now in November,” said
Rees. “Pharmacists are actually operating
outside of a contract. They’re dispensing
medicines at a loss.
“Every couple of weeks you hear that
there might be a deal around the corner, but
it never materialises.
“We’re reaching such a late stage in this
financial year that there’s now a real risk
that when a deal does eventually emerge,
it will actually be for this year and for the next
financial year - it’ll be a two-year deal and that
would be really disappointing.
“Pharmacy owners, so many of them are
clinging on by their fingertips. We need the
government to move fast and we’re just not
seeing that.”
In response to Streeting’s claim that collective
action by pharmacies would lead to patient
harm, Rees said it was better communities had
a pharmacy offering reduced services, and for
there not to be a pharmacy at all.
“We do know that some patients will be
affected, and that’s something to be regretted. No
one proposes action that could affect patient care
lightly,” he added.
“Unless these steps are taken, more and
more pharmacies will close because they’re
running on empty. They are doing more work
than they’re being reimbursed for. And if
they take these measures, such as stopping
free delivery of medicines, stopping free
blister packs, if they reduce their hours to core
hours, that will make them more financially
sustainable, which means they won’t have
to completely close down and can still serve
patients.
“If they carry on doing all the things
they’re doing for now, there’s more chance
that more pharmacies will go to the wall,
and that’s something we want to prevent in
order to safeguard the services that patients
receive in local communities.”
After the announcement of the ballot
back in September, the Pharmacists’ Defence
Association (PDA) publicly stated that only trade
unions, which the NPA isn’t, can conduct ballots
for industrial action.
With over 38,000 members, the PDA is the
largest pharmacist membership organisation and
the only independent trade union of pharmacists
in the UK.
Therefore, it argued that the NPA’s action
should not be “inaccurately described as a strike
or industrial or collective action.”
The PDA further explained that NPA’s
proposed ballot pertains to a contractual dispute
between businesses operating community
pharmacies and the NHS commissioners in
England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Additionally, the PDA noted that the NPA
is not conducting a ballot for its members in
Scotland.
While some reports have stated that
pharmacists are being balloted for the first time
to take collective action, the PDA pointed out
that many NPA members are, in fact, business
owners and investors, not pharmacists.
Rees, however, stated that it was important
that the sector’s different representative
bodies worked together. He pointed out
that when the NPA handed a petition to
Downing Street as part of its Save
Our Pharmacies campaign, they
were accompanied by the likes of
Community Pharmacy England (CPE),
Community Pharmacy Northern
Ireland (CPNI), and the Company
Chemists’ Association (CCA).
“The sector is crying out for a united
front across the bodies,” said Rees.
“We’ve got a good relationship with
the with the PDA. We meet with them, and
other representative bodies, regularly and
we work in a collaborative way.
“They will take slightly different
views on some things, but we all want,
ultimately, the same result, and that is a
fair deal for community pharmacy.”
action on the cards, says NPA after ballot results
“There’s a state of
emergency, there’s
a crisis within
community pharmacy”
L-R: Shailesh Solanki, Executive Editor, Pharmacy Business; Stephen Kinnock MP, Minister of State, Dept of Health & Social Care; Amerjit Singh, Sharoe Green
Pharmacy; Sonny Bassi, Head of Key Accounts, Alliance Healthcare; Kalpesh Solanki, Group Managing Editor, Pharmacy; Rory Bremner. Image © Asian Media Group.
CONGRATULATIONS
TO AMERJIT SINGH OF
SHAROE GREEN PHARMACY
Alliance Healthcare, proud sponsor of the
Pharmacy Business Enterprise Award, is
delighted to congratulate this year’s winner.
Amerjit Singh has been an enterprising pharmacist
for more than 25 years. He has set up a learning and
training business to provide individuals with the skills
and confi dence to succeed in a career in pharmacy
through employing apprentices in his pharmacy.
This has seen dispensing times reduced and much
improved patient care. His model is proving successful
across NHS Trusts and community pharmacy.
Alliance Healthcare works in partnership with
independent pharmacy to navigate the changing
healthcare market, supporting growth and providing
top-quality healthcare services to make a difference
in patients’ lives.
To fi nd out more about how we can support you
and your business, please call 020 8391 2323.
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