PSNC has escalated concerns about Capita’s Primary Care Support (PCS) England operation and is seeking remedial action from NHS England.

In a letter to NHS England’s national director for operations and information, PSNC expressed “dismay and disappointment” about PCS England service levels. The letter set out a number of areas in which both contractors and LPCs have been experiencing poor service from PCS England, including:

• Serious delays in delivery of vital controlled stationery 
• Staff who are confused and lack knowledge about practices and processes
• Delays, incomplete letters and failures to issue the required notifications around market entry provisions.

PSNC has asked NHS England to review the criteria by which PCS England is assessed, to postpone any plans for Capita to take on further work involving community pharmacy until it is able to manage the current work, and to give assurance that any losses incurred by pharmacies relating to Capita’s management of market entry provisions will be dealt with quickly and fairly by NHS England.

The Committee has also asked NHS England to take action to ensure that PCS England processes for the delivery of controlled stationery are fit for purpose, to give assurances that pharmacists unable to fulfil their terms of service due to lack of controlled stationery are not penalised, and to ensure that Capita has sufficient numbers of appropriately trained staff to manage market entry provisions.

Gordon Hockey, PSNC director of operations and support, said: “PSNC is of the view that service levels from Capita are unacceptable and we are very concerned that the problems caused are starting to have an adverse effect on the delivery of community pharmacy services and the care of patients. We have been working with Capita to try to resolve the issues but have now escalated this to NHS England seeking assurances that the poor service will be improved.”