Commissioning is likely to shift increasingly towards local services rather than national ones, creating both a threat and an opportunity for pharmacy, members were told at the NPA’s London conference on June 8

Simon Stephens, the new chief executive of NHS England, had “made no secret” of his desire to increase CCGs’ responsibility for commissioning and move away from “national diktats”, PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe told NPA members. But this was where independents were “poised to do well”, she said. “Independents can make these long-term local relationships and make sure that the pharmacy is a good business to work with. We will do what we can in terms of national services, but in terms of local it’s really down to you.”

Mrs Sharpe was confident that pharmacy could prove its worth. “Some tremendous stuff is going on. And there is some good evidence for the value of medicines optimisation. We are awaiting the final NMS evaluation but I’m absolutely confident that that pharmacist intervention helps patients. That’s at the core of what community pharmacies do.”

The NHS was heading for bankruptcy unless it could find some different ways of operating. “Opportunities to keep people out of hospital are real vote winners.” For example, pharmacy services on the Isle of Wight saved hospital admissions among 300 vulnerable patients and saved £1.9m

Pharmacists should get their teams to consider who were their most vulnerable patients and what they could do for them, suggested Mrs Sharpe. “Talk to your LPC and get those services commissioned for you.”

Opportunity knocks Independents had a “tremendous” opportunity to reach the ‘excellent’ standard in the GPhC’s new premises rating system, said chief executive Duncan Rudkin. “The inspection process is not a mountain to climb, but an opportunity to show us what you’re doing.”

To be rated ‘excellent’, a pharmacy must show evidence of innovative service provision that meets the needs of its patients. “Your businesses are owned and run by members of the profession so there’s an opportunity to put professionalism at the forefront of everything you do.”

Because an element of judgment was involved in the new inspection model, the GPhC was putting measures in place to protect against the risk of idiosyncratic judgments and designing a mechanism for review if pharmacists disagreed with GPhC decisions.

NHS England was planning a trial of pharmacist access to patient records at up to 100 sites, NHSE’s senior programme manager Alison Hemsworth told the conference.