EXCLUSIVE

The new funding settlement will force contractors to work harder for no reward, industry leaders have said.

Pharmacy representatives said they were concerned about how the 17 pence reduction in practice payments would affect contractors' finances and expressed disappointment that the settlement did not place a greater emphasis on services.

PSNC announced yesterday that the global sum for 2014-15 would be £2.8 billion, up £314 million but to include NMS funding and reflect £800m in retained purchase profit.

Practice payments will be slashed by a quarter from November to deliver the agreed £2bn in fees and allowances, and Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Ash Soni told C+D this "net loss" would require contractors to "work harder to maintain what they're doing".

Mr Soni said he was disappointed that the new settlement had not increased the maximum number of paid MURs a pharmacy can deliver beyond 400.  

"I hoped we could offer [the service] to more patients with long-term conditions. It is a shame that hasn't happened. In that sense we haven't seen more funding into services," he added.

Numark managing director John D'Arcy agreed the new settlement would require pharmacists to "do more for less".

"Overall funding still does not appear to take account of the increase in pharmacy numbers since 2005, which has served to dilute the funding available. Because the contract relies on a global sum, the financial impact on contractors will be skewed, [with] those at the bottom end seeing a significant reduction in income," he said.

Independent Pharmacy Federation chair Fin McCaul said the settlement would mean his pharmacy would "make a loss". Increasing category M prices meant the funding deal still placed an "emphasis on [drug] purchase rather than service", he told C+D.

Pharmacy Voice chief executive Rob Darracott told C+D it was not helpful to "focus on specific numbers" in the settlement and the sector should wait to see the "reality" of how it impacted on contractors.

Mr Darracott said the short-term settlement, which has only been agreed until April 2015, could restrict investment in the sector.

"It was hinted it would be for more than one year. I think the annual contracting we have at the moment is not helpful for sustainability," he added.

This view was echoed by Co-operative Pharmacy superintendent John Nuttall, who said the sector needed to "look to the future" and plan how it could secure a "multi-year settlement" that placed a greater emphasis on pharmacy services.

Announcing the settlement yesterday, PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe said contractors should expect "more work for the same level of funding" and insisted the negotiator was "very keen" to reach a settlement for 2015-16 before April next year.

	How will your pharmacy fare under the new settlement?