Contractors who dispense 2,500 or more items a month will receive an extra 1.2p per item from next week, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has announced.

As part of last month’s funding agreement to deliver £2 billion to pharmacies through fees and allowances in 2015-16, contractors with the highest dispensing volumes will receive a payment of 54.7p per item from September 1, PSNC announced last Friday (August 21).

Pharmacists who dispense less than 1,100 items will continue to receive £50 a month for a further seven months, PSNC said. 

Those who dispense between 1,100 and 1,599 items will see their monthly payments rise £10.28 to £466.86, while contractors dispensing between 1,600 and 2,499 items will see their payments rise £14.40 to £653.57, it added.

PSNC stressed that it will continue to monitor funding over the next year to “determine if further changes are required” to meet its £2bn delivery target.

Graham Phillips, owner of Manor Pharmacy Group (Wheathampstead) Ltd, described the payment changes as "tinkering around the edges" of the sector's funding. "Another irrelevant minor tweak to a fundamentally flawed contract," he told C+D.

In April, the minimum dispensing volume threshold for item-based practice payments rose from 2,430 items per month to 2,500. Practice payments for contractors who reached the threshold also rose by 4.4p to £53.50.

How will the revised practice payments affect you?

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