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14 Sep 2011

Multiples slam funding deal as “unacceptable”

Multiples have slammed this year's contract funding agreement, warning that pharmacies will have to scale back their offerings and could even go out of business as a result of severe cuts.

The Co-operative Pharmacy called the deal a "disappointing result", Lloydspharmacy branded tariff reductions "unacceptable" and Day Lewis warned that the settlement would see pharmacy "doing more for less".

Businesses said they had serious concerns about their ability to continue to expand pharmacists' roles and may have to cut services. 

The comments came after PSNC revealed the community pharmacy funding package for 2011-12, saying that it would reduce category M prices, introduce a specials tariff and increase practice payments under the deal.

Lloydspharmacy branded the tariff reductions unacceptable and pledged to raise the matter with the Department of Health. "No pharmacy contractor will have projected in their business plans for an impact of this size. The consequence could be the scaling back or stopping of services," said Lloydspharmacy managing director Tony Page. "We believe that it is possible that some community pharmacies will be forced to close," he added.

Rowlands Pharmacy managing director Kenny Black agreed that the settlement would have a "large impact on Rowlands and pharmacy as a whole". Rowlands would have to review some of its spending, he confirmed.

The Co-operative Pharmacy, Numark, Avicenna, Alliance Healthcare and pharmacists posting on C+D's website also raised concerns about the deal. "I think we are fast approaching a crisis point for community pharmacy," said Alliance Healthcare chair Mike Smith. 

And the settlement was at odds with claims by health ministers that they expected pharmacy's role in healthcare provision to expand, some argued. "We are told by the government that businesses must invest in the future to help the economy grow, but community pharmacy needs more certainty in the baseline model for service than the current system delivers," said Pharmacy Voice chief executive Rob Darracott.

PSNC said this year's negotiations had been "difficult" given the economic climate. And this year's funding was always going to see "blood on the pharmacy floor", agreed Kirit Patel, managing director of Day Lewis.

A DH spokesperson told C+D: "A funding package of £2.526 billion was agreed for 2011/12 - an increase of £40 million on the funding package for 2010/11. On top of this, we are investing up to £55m in the New Medicine Service in 2011/12 and 2012/13."

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Rajive Patel, Community pharmacist
Posted on 14 September 2011.
This just confirms what everyone has been thinking all along, that this settlement is short of scandalous. Heads must roll, and MIss Sharpe is on top of that list. How can she and the rest of the PSNC justify their positions. She should be honorable and just resign making way for a heavyweight to take over the reins of the PSNC.

As for buying groups, they are useless and have never and can never represent contractors since their business model is outdated and they are more focused on generating their own profits rather than giving tangible support to their members. You will probably see the likes of Avicenna et al jump on the band wagon of "this settlement is not acceptable".

Disgusting!
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Rajive Patel, Community pharmacist
Posted on 14/09/11 11:02 in reply to Rajive Patel.
I suggest that the C&D acknowledge the mood of the masses and pursue this issue with Sue Sharpe. We really need someone or somebody to be held to account. Sue Sharpe's latest response on this website, is almost nudging on arrogance, how can she be allowed to continue in status quo.
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Rajive Patel, Community pharmacist
Posted on 14/09/11 11:09 in reply to Rajive Patel.
To me this government, along with the PSNC may dish out rhetoric that we need to demonstrate more services and demonstrate our value to the NHS. I say this we need to cull our service output until funding is equitable (we are not charities) and furthermore, we do not need to demonstrate anything to the government, we should retrench to our core model of dispensing which is where our primary source of income is derived.

This whole transition of trying to move pharmacy from a dispensing model to a service model was flawed from day 1. By pushing services, we devalue our core role, and hence our negotiating position on our core roles. As we all know the lions share of our expenditure is by way of dispensing overheads. This is why the COSI has so conveniently been brushed aside this year. I cannot say this enough...this whole negotiating debacle is scandalous.
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Nailesh Patel, Community pharmacist
Posted on 14/09/11 11:39 in reply to Rajive Patel.
my sentiments exactly

well said sir
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Efe Ekakitie, Locum pharmacist
Posted on 14/09/11 12:06 in reply to Rajive Patel.
You just hit the nail on the head Rajive. Our core model is dispensing. Trying to shift the focus on all these so called services is a deceptive move and short of telling us to compete with the Doctors for their contracts. Pharmacists do not have to demonstrate their value by these extra services, it has been a very clear role for nearly a hundred years now. All these rhetorics from PSNC is just to assist the DH pay less for an already overburdened Pharmacist and this in CAPITAL letters is injustice!!
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Clive Hodgson, Community pharmacist
Posted on 14/09/11 12:16 in reply to Rajive Patel.
And I too would agree 100% with Rajive.

We move away from our core dipensing service at our peril.

Clive
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Michael Franks, Community pharmacist
Posted on 14/09/11 12:17 in reply to Efe Ekakitie.
surely even the psnc should be capable of getting an increase of the inflation rate ie 5%. otherwise we are going backwards.. psnc needs to be paid according to results. if we are working harder the government should be paying for it. we need a body that stands firm not give in each time we negotiate.
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Rajive Patel, Community pharmacist
Posted on 14/09/11 12:30 in reply to Michael Franks.
In the absence of independent representative bodies helping us (e.g self serving buying groups) we need to club together to make our voices heard, and this ultimately means challenging the current leadership of the PSNC.

Forget buying groups we should set up a contractors support group.
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Dhanoa, Superintendent
Posted on 14/09/11 12:36 in reply to Rajive Patel.
My sentiments to Rajive, I have said for years this was the wrong route I just hoped the industry had woken to this sooner. Protect our core function and our only feather in a cap. The idea of shifting our funding to an area where we are then in competition with doctors and nurses is completely flawed and I'd like to say short sighted but even in the short term it make absolutely no sense.

So if you're reading this "PSNC members" listen to the contractors you represent or quite frankly you'll need to find a new job because we will create such an awareness campaign about what you have done to our pay structure that its almost a guarantee you will be voted out, and if you're unable to rectify the mess you have continued to create I can't imagine any organisation wanting to employ you for the purpose of negotiation. Unless their objectives are short sighted and making a loss in income is their aim??!!
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Rajive Patel, Community pharmacist
Posted on 14/09/11 13:03 in reply to Dhanoa.
Ive already posted this link. But do try and get like minded colleagues to join this group. Once we have enough members we can organize a meeting to discuss/co-ordinate a response to these unacceptable happenings.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4081940&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
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Anant Bhogaita, Locum pharmacist
Posted on 15 September 2011.
People in the Multiple Ivory Towers are to blame for always accepting the silly deals which we pharmacists at grass root levels always knew would never work in the long term. About time they learnt! Which other profession would work for peanuts. It is a disgrace that after 5 years of studying, we earn far less than other professions which do not require intense studying. We are killing ourselves trying to save the lives of patients we care for.
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sanjai sankar, Locum pharmacist
Posted on 15/09/11 10:48 in reply to Rajive Patel.
I am a Locum Pharmacist and I cant see a wait out of this very difficult period particularly for Locums....Been qualified 15 years but in the last 2 years, things have been difficult in Retail Pharmacy....I agree, Dispensing is our Core role and should remain as such. Additional services is fine if there is sufficient support staff but there never is especially with the Multiples...
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Chris Locum, Locum pharmacist
Posted on 18/09/11 12:20 in reply to Dhanoa.
Fine and stirring words but the problem ultimately is not the PSNC but ourselves. When being an independent contractor was better and an opportunity more attainable, we had a better voice due to selfish interest - though still ignored.

We can not even agree among ourselves. Rajive is correct, whether we like it or not the dispensing function IS our very reason for being here and if we float around outside the dispensary, in the two hour absence, ultimately many of us will have no further use.

Yes, it is time to make a stand but don't hold your breath. We are an over medicated nation and this and future administrations (more so given the high levels of debt ) will just use us a soft target - because we have been too soft.

Once electronic prescriptions and more tinkering over the RP regs ( that got railroaded through despite warnings of problems to come) the pressure of financial issues may see unemployment from insolvency and economies of scale.

The big boys will see more claw backs even if the small fish have all been gobbled up.
With technology and industrial processes we have in a way been de skilled.
Looking to justify our existence with vaccination programs etc will not bring in the money we have lost elsewhere because the lack of commissioning under the new contract proves this already.

I remember a year in which prescription numbers were some 17% above that projected. If you were not registered then well I will tell you what happened.

We were informed that we had been overpaid by this amount and it would be clawed back in the following financial year. We did the work, got paid and then it was taken away simply because it was more than expected.

Do you think that could have happened to the GPs ? Of course not.

When we lost the chance of ownership , we lost control of community pharmacy. I remember reading as a student, some british association of pharmacists or similar name warning of loss of the on cost contract. The thin end of the wedge they said. Proper control of entry against losing the right to get overheads factored in properly in future negotiations.

Seems they were quite the visionaries.....
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D S, Community pharmacist
Posted on 25 September 2011.
The Banking sector gets bailed out by the public funds and still the huge bonuses paid out have not stopped. There is no payment of publics money back and the Government does not care. They only speak in length as to what they proposed to do but no action yet.
Whereas, the pharmacy sector, which has had the worst cuts in funding always still continues to get smothered, with the help of it's own negotiator, time and again. Still, the pharmacies continue to offer services with no financial benefits, sometimes losses, in order to maintain patient care and fight off competition. It is time all pharmacist start thinking in one direction, irrespective of multiple or independent, and come together for a single goal of strengthening the dignity of the profession. These nonsense schemes like NMS, where no pharmacy can predict how many patients with new medicines will be coming to their pharmacy, how do you expect them to foresee any level of income for the extra efforts ??? Is there any logic at all in DOH claiming that they have a budget of £55mln spend in NMS, where no one clear how the payment scheme will work ???

Time for the pharmacists to take things in there own hands and fight strongly than just put hopes on a negotiator, who has constantly proved inefficient.
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