£15m fund for practice pharmacists ‘cheap but exciting’
NHS England money is a “positive step” that could lead to further investment in the profession, say academics such as Keele University's Nigel Ratcliffe
NHS England’s £15 million fund to employ pharmacists in GP practices is “cheap” but a “step in the right direction”, academics and economists have told C+D.
Keele University’s school of pharmacy head Nigel Ratcliffe said this month’s announcement of the money – which will partially fund 250 clinical pharmacists in practices for three years – was “one of the most exciting things” that could happen to the profession. “Any investment” was worth having if it made use of pharmacists’ “experience and significant training”, said Mr Ratcliffe, who is also chair of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent NHS Trust.
Pharmacists must not see the new roles as a “threat” if they wanted the profession to evolve, he stressed. “We have to be very careful not [to] confuse the role of the community pharmacy on the high street – which is still the gateway of the NHS – with the role of a pharmacist in a GP surgery.”
Mr Ratcliffe predicted that pharmacists who took part in the NHS England pilot scheme would “make such an impact” that more funding would be directed to the profession.
Sector must be enthusiastic
Coventry University health economist Darrin Baines said the sector “had to be enthusiastic” about the funding, otherwise there would be “no encouragement for NHS England to do more”.
“This is a victory for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s efforts to get new roles [and] new money for pharmacists,” he said.
Although it was a “positive step” for the profession, £15m was “quite cheap really” and it was unclear where NHS England would source the money from. “The devil is in the detail. Is this going to come from the pharmacy contract or commissioning?” he said.
David Taylor, professor of pharmaceutical and public health policy at University College London, said the pilot funding was “an interesting initial experience”, but the sector would “have to see what it means longer term”.
“I would [like] opportunities for pharmacists in primary care organisations, rather than relatively low-cost employees in general practice,” he added.
Sara Lafond, economics analyst at charity The Health Foundation, said £15m was just 0.7 per cent of NHS England’s expenditure in 2012-13 and therefore “not really a big sum”.
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Pharmacists in practices: What we know so far The £15m will support teams of one senior pharmacist and five clinical pharmacists working in pilot sites across England for three years. NHS England will fund 60 per cent of these pharmacists’ fees for their first year, dropping gradually to 20 per cent by the final year. GP practices – which will directly employ the pharmacists – will pay the remainder. What will pharmacists do? Pharmacists will provide clinical expertise on treatments, develop medicine plans, monitor patients with complex long-term conditions and select suitable alternatives to medicines in short supply. How will they be selected? Health Education England and NHS England’s regional teams will assess applications from pharmacists “against a set of criteria”. When will it begin? The pilot launches this month, with clinical pharmacists beginning to work in general practices in the winter. Source: NHS England, July 7 |
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