Pharmacists will have to struggle with interim funding arrangements for at least another three months, because PSNC does not expect to secure a 2012-13 funding agreement until autumn.

PSNC was expecting a "very active period of negotiations" over the summer before NHS England agreed funding for 2012-13 and beyond, said PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe at the annual conference of the British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers in London this week (June 18).

In February, the negotiator forecast that an agreement would be reached by late summer, following delays caused by the newly formed NHS England taking over contract negotiations from the Department of Health. PSNC announced the interim funding arrangements in October 2012.

"For the last year and a half I have been saying that we're expecting a settlement quite soon. This time we really do think we are going towards a settlement in autumn" Sue Sharpe, PSNC	More on contract negotiations Economists forecast more work for same money in       next funding deal NHS chief: follow Scotland's example for contract Commissioning board must consult CCGs on       pharmacy contract MORE NEWS
	NHS England would have to set the budget for community pharmacy services by around November, which meant that "excuses and time were running out", Ms Sharpe said. "For the past year and a half I have been saying that we're expecting a settlement quite soon. This time we really do think we are going towards a settlement in autumn," she told the conference.

Ms Sharpe admitted that the new contract agreement, which would be based on the findings of the cost of service inquiry (COSI), published in 2011, would have to be delivered within an "extremely tight funding package".

A fundamental overhaul of the contract was unlikely, but she expected some funds to be moved away from dispensing towards rewarding pharmacists for delivering services.

Both PSNC and the Department of Health still needed to ensure that funding for dispensing in the contract reflected the costs involved so that it gave pharmacists incentive to meet patient needs, she said.

Pharmacy Voice chief executive Rob Darracott said a new pharmacy contract was long overdue and would remove some of the concerns that pharmacists had.

"It's gone on for far too long. Everybody knows that," he told C+D.