The Department of Health (DH) should have acted faster on control of entry regulations and banned new 100-hour pharmacy applications while it decided what to do with contract rules, industry analysts have said.

In last year’s white paper, the Department set out several options to change the 100-hour exemption, including one to make new applicants justify the need for such a pharmacy. A consultation on the proposals ended in November last year, but the Department has yet to respond with a final decision.

David Reissner, of law firm Charles Russell, said indecision from the DH had caused uncertainty in the profession. And he warned that he was already seeing an increase in the number of applications for 100-hour pharmacies. In 2006-07 there were 270 new pharmacy openings, up from 146 in 2005-06 and just 42 the year before the exemption was introduced, according to NHS figures.

The DH should have imposed a moratorium on the exemption until it made a decision, Paul Benson of Manchester LPC added. He said the opening of some 100-hour pharmacies had been unnecessary and diluted the quality of services.

Those responding to the consultation also generally argued that “100-hour pharmacies should only exist where there is a proven need for such a facility”.
The DH’s consultation also covered plans to replace the control of entry system with one based on pharmaceutical needs assessments. Respondents were “not convinced” by the proposal, but the DH has already published guidance on implementing PNAs for PCTs.