The Department of Health (DH) told C+D this week (August 9) it is still unable to confirm the timeframe for the planned £170 million cut to pharmacy funding in England – after it missed its own July deadline to announce final details of the sector’s funding.

NPA chairman Ian Strachan said the delayed announcement “does not necessarily signify a change in position by DH officials or NHS England”.

“We cannot afford to relax our efforts,” Mr Strachan told C+D.

He stressed that the NPA has developed campaign tools to help pharmacists “re-engage” with MPs over their summer recess.

“Representations are continuing at a local level too, and we are starting to see local patient groups become engaged,” he said.

The NPA has “built up a support base” to sustain “an ongoing fight”, he said. “We do not intend to squander this position by sitting back, crossing our fingers and trusting everything to fate.”

Keep in touch

Pharmacy Voice told C+D that it has “remained in contact” with DH officials since the July deadline passed. It expects to meet with the new pharmacy minsiter David Mowat “in due course” to discuss the future of the sector.

The lobbying group also emphasised the importance of providing contractors with some certainty about their future funding arrangements.

Sandra Gidley, chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English pharmacy board told C+D the society also has a meeting “in the pipeline” with Mr Mowat, where it hopes to discuss “how community pharmacists can be better integrated into new models of care”.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee reiterated it has written to the minister and will continue to campaign against the “ill-advised proposals”.