The Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) and National Pharmacy Association (NPA) have written a joint letter to NHSE demanding that it “[publishes] the pharmacy economic analysis now”.
In a LinkedIn post yesterday (March 4), the IPA said that their “collective voice must be heard” and called on the sector to sign the letter to show support.
“We need to be honest about the scale of the problem we face so we can solve it together,” an NPA LinkedIn post published today added.
Read more: HSCC gives NHSE 2-week deadline for economic analysis update
“We are writing to ask in the strongest terms that you release immediately the result of the long-awaited economic analysis of community pharmacy,” the letter said.
“It is clear that this report will contain vitally important information about the short-term stability of the pharmacy network, which is a crucial part of the health infrastructure for millions of people,” it added.
“No justification”
“This report was commissioned to show the true gap between the costs of providing NHS community pharmacy services and the funding for that service [so] it is only right that the public see the scale of the funding gap now,” the letter continued.
The bodies said that “there is no justification for delaying publication of this report, whether or not consultations on funding are underway”.
“The stability of the pharmacy network is of vital public interest and the public has a right to see this analysis now,” they added.
Read more: Pharmacy leaders demand DH ‘immediately’ publish economic analysis
“Our central concern is that the dire financial state of community pharmacies – created over many years of neglect – poses a real and present threat to health services vital for millions of patients,” the letter said.
And the sector leaders stressed that publishing the review would help the government and the NHS “chart a way to securing the stable and sustainable pharmacy network that our patients so desperately need”.
Two-week deadline
It comes after the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) last week demanded NHSE respond to questions on the economic analysis “no later than March 14”.
The body asked NHSE the following questions:
- When do you anticipate this analysis to be fully completed?
- Do you intend to publish the analysis, and accompanying data, in full?
- If so, when will it be published?
- If not, why, and what will you publish instead?
Read more: Long-awaited NHSE pharmacy economic review to begin in March
Meanwhile, the IPA previously asked for the results of the economic review early last month, with chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck asking to “[have] a view of this as soon as possible”.
And the NPA joined these calls, demanding that the NHS and Department of Health and Social Care (DH) “publish immediately a long-awaited independent economic analysis of pharmacy underfunding”.
