The Northern Ireland High Court has ruled that this year's cuts to pharmacy funding in the country were made without proper consultation.

The government had not followed the correct consultation process before making the cuts, which represented a 33 per cent slash to pharmacy funding, High Court judge Mr Justice Treacy announced yesterday (December 21).

Industry leaders welcomed the decision, but warned that a new contract must be put in place to safeguard Northern Ireland's pharmacies.

Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland (CPNI), which initiated the legal action against the cuts, called for "fair and reasonable" pharmacy funding. "While we welcome Mr Justice Treacy's decision that the proper consultation process had not been followed, it is imperative that we now find a solution that ensures fair and reasonable funding for the pharmacy services provided to patients in Northern Ireland," stressed CPNI chief executive Gerard Greene.

Mr Greene also set out his intention to work with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) to negotiate a new funding strategy. "Community pharmacy is in crisis and we are concerned that unless measures are put in place straight away, this may impact on the long-term sustainability of community pharmacy in Northern Ireland," he argued.

And while Numark welcomed the High Court decision as "good news", it also called for negotiations to begin. "We've got the right outcome, but it took a long time to get there," said Mimi Lau, Numark's director of pharmacy services. "I just hope that the damage that has been done is not irreparable – talks need to begin to prevent further damage to the Northern Ireland pharmacy network."

"What needs to happen now is for the right people to get round the table and negotiate the funding and contract that recognises the essential role that pharmacy has in medicines management and public health, as clearly recognised in the [government's] Compton review," Ms Lau added.

The Compton review was published last week and recommended a stronger role for pharmacy in community health promotion.