Now that the dust has settled from the calls to release the Independent Economic Review (IER) commissioned by NHS England and conducted by Frontier Economics, I would make the following comments drawn from my experience of being heavily involved in pharmacy contractor and Government funding negotiations for well over a decade.
There appears to be a misconception that the publication of a figure from the IER will automatically mean that NHSE, the DHSC and the Westminster Government will get their collective cheque book out and match that figure. I would suggest that is not going to happen.
At best, the offer that has been made, in my opinion, will move someway towards bridging the gap and the elected representatives on Community Pharmacy England (CPE) will be faced with trying to secure a commitment that, over a number of years, further funding increases will be forthcoming to deliver an agreed end goal.
It is common knowledge that CPE has received a funding offer and as I highlighted in a previous piece, the committee will be actively considering its content.
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It is very rare indeed that an initial offer meets expectations and the CPE negotiating team will be liaising with its wider representatives and making counter recommendations.
Once all of that is complete, the CPE committee must then consider the best and final offer, recommend what to do with it and then have that accepted by Government departments.
That, unfortunately, all takes time, and I appreciate how frustrating that is, especially when the network is facing significant cost increases through National Living Wage and National Insurance budgetary announcements.
Couple that with the previous five-year flat funding settlement and a crisis develops. I also read comments that CPE does not appreciate this critical position, and I fundamentally refute that.
Knowing the colleagues, both elected and employed, at CPE as I do, this is far from the case.
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They are operating in a very difficult and nuanced environment that few will have experienced.
At the end of the “back and forward” process an offer will be accepted or not.
Let’s work on the assumption that an acceptable offer can be found.
Believe it or not, the allocation of that funding offer can be more challenging than getting a deal in the first place. Undoubtably taking the best outcome for the network at large, will mean some pharmacy owners will be satisfied, and others will be far from it.
That is the nature of these negotiations and each of the elected and nominated CPE representatives will have to park any real or perceived allegiances and do the best by the collective.
Of course any offer could be rejected, and some may call to do so if that the offer falls short of expectations or of the IER published figure. This is a path fraught with danger.
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The Government team involved could become exasperated and decide to impose a settlement much worse than that offered. Such a position would also diminish any relationships established and make the community pharmacy sector less attractive to engage with.
Some of course will see this position as the right way forward, my experience would tell me that it is better to stay at the table and work collaboratively.
Once the funding announcement is made I will ensure that my organisation analyses it fully and does everything in its power to maximise the benefit for each and every member.
Harry McQuillan is chairman of Numark and a former CEO of Community Pharmacy.