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Independent pharmacists contact ICP magazine to get things off their chest...

We reduced our hours to try and mitigate rising costs

Last year, ahead of the game, I negotiated shorter hours for the pharmacy due to a lack of funds. It was a stressful time as initially, NHS England and the integrated care board were happy to dissolve pharmacy services despite the next pharmacy being 20 miles by road.

Eventually sense was seen and we continued at reduced hours. I have reduced support staff hours to mitigate rising costs and try not to employ a locum, therefore my time off is limited.

We no longer offer any free services. We gave up on free deliveries and the MDS service where there was no disability need. The saved time is spent on private services such as a travel clinic and ear microsuction.

From time to time, patients need to source their medication from Truro, 20 miles away by road, as we cannot source it for them. This can be difficult for them if they have mobility issues and have no support. The community here is very elderly, so this is not uncommon.

I will contact NHS England shortly as the actions taken last year to mitigate the costs have partly done so for this financial year just gone, but as a result of the new contract this year, I will lose out on pharmacy quality scheme (PQS) funds by £6,000 as my pharmacy does not meet the threshold of 1,800 items a month to qualify for the majority of the allocated funding.

There was no PQS scheme last year, therefore the forecasted £6,000 from that year was lost.

This year, the minimum wage increase represents an added cost of £2,000. Therefore, a total of £14,000 has been lost in revenue, even before adjusting for inflation at 2.5 per cent this year.

The new contract rewards volume pharmacies only. My new medicine service consultations are capped at 10, so that presents no opportunity to benefit from further NHS services.

It makes no sense that this is capped, whilst at the same time a threshold needs to be met to qualify for other payments like Pharmacy First.

I hope this helps explain the difficulties rural pharmacies face in the current economic climate along with the poor design of the new contract. 

Faisel Baig, pharmacist and owner of St Mawes Pharmacy, Cornwall.

ICBs are being myopic about healthcare benefits to local communities

Given the constant rhetoric from the government about the important role of pharmacy in a future reformed NHS, you would expect they would be keen to ensure that patients can access a full range of pharmaceutical care services.

However, there are real challenges for ambitious pharmacists looking to open a community pharmacy in areas without a pharmacy following population expansion or multiple closures. Current pharmaceutical needs assessments (PNAs) do not always represent unmet need for broader primary care services, including CPCF advanced services and just focus on access to medicines supply.

Integrated Care Boards are being myopic about overall healthcare benefits to the local population and leaning on outdated or poorly written PNAs too much.

I appreciate that the current control of entry regulations do just that, but in some areas we are seeing Health and Wellbeing Boards asserting pressure on ICBs to open their minds to the benefits of either addressing unmet or poorly met needs, or improving access.

I have been supporting two pharmacy applications, one in an area of significant working, shopping and residential population growth (Battersea Power Station), and one in a large village where there is now no pharmacy following a Boots closure.

Both are hitting the same challenge of ’no unmet need’ written into their PNA. Both applicants seek to improve access for people to a broad range of nationally and, potentially, locally commissioned services.

Then there are the timelines to have an application reviewed by Primary Care Support England and consulted on through the local ICBs before a decision is taken followed by a prolonged appeal process.

The government must act on its rhetoric if community-based pharmacy is to be a cornerstone of the new NHS.

Michael Holden, managing director, MH Associates.

Pharmacy has to be nationalised – it’s just doom and gloom

After being a pharmacy contractor for over 48 years, Sykes Chemists Ltd had sell five branches due to poor funding by the government and its policies.

Personally, I feel pharmacy has to be nationalised by the Government. It’s just doom and gloom. There’s increasing workload and no investment!

Wages are going up more than income and we do not know the cost of drugs and what we are going to be paid. It is no wonder so many pharmacies are closing and selling.
Labour knows about the pharmacy crisis but chooses to drag the pain on pharmacies. Come out with some serious funding for pharmacies to survive!

We as directors have not taken a penny in salary. We’ve been 48 years in business but the last two years have been a struggle for us to make ends meet.

We cannot pay all our wholesalers in the regular pattern. Enough is enough. Go on strike!

Chiman Patel, director and superintendent pharmacist at Sykes Chemists Ltd.

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