Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW) has welcomed a “6% increase in community pharmacy funding for the current year” announced by the Welsh government, it said last week (September 11).

The government last week announced that it wanted a “fair and proportionate pay uplift” for community pharmacies after accepting a recommendation for a 6% pay increase for other healthcare workers for 2024/25.

It said that it had accepted the recommendation by the Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) for NHS-employed doctors, dentists, consultants and specialists as well as for doctors and dentists in training who will receive an extra “£1,000 on a consolidated basis”.

Read more: Flat funding deal leaves Welsh pharmacies ‘disappointed’

And it also accepted the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) recommendation of a “5.5% increase for all Agenda for Change pay bands” backdated to April 1 this year for “nurses, cleaners, porters and healthcare support workers”, it added.

Interim cabinet secretary for health and social care in Wales Mark Drakeford said that community pharmacy funding falls “outside the scope” of the DDRB recommendation of “6% increase to salary scales, pay ranges and the pay elements of contracts from April 1 2024”.

But he added that he wanted to recognise “the vital role primary care and its staff play in delivering essential services to people throughout Wales”.

“Reward” pharmacies

CPW chair Mark Griffiths said that the announcement “has come at a critical time for community pharmacies across Wales who have faced significant financial challenges over an extended period of time”.

The negotiator will “work with Welsh government and NHS Wales to make sure that the increased funding is allocated in a way that will enable us to reward and support our pharmacy teams while ensuring that community pharmacy remains a sustainable and viable network”, he added.

Drakeford, who was replaced last week (September 11) by Jeremy Miles, said that officials will negotiate with representative bodies “on the proposed uplift for this year as part of wider contract reform mandates in line with the government’s agenda”, such as for GPs and dentists who are also NHS contractors.

Read more: Welsh pharmacies secure 5% funding increase for 2023/24

It comes after Welsh pharmacies were left “disappointed” after CPW revealed in July that funding would remain the same for the next financial year at a “ring-fenced total allocation” of £165m, amounting to “a zero increase in community pharmacy contractual framework (CPCF) funding in 2024/25”.

C+D reported in March that the 2024/25 Welsh pharmacy contract was delayed after discussions between CPW, Welsh government and local health boards did not conclude prior to March 31.

But CPW secured a 5% funding increase for the 2023/24 contract, with an additional £6.3m in core funding awarded to pharmacies.