MPs have called on the government to give integrated care boards (ICBs) more power to act against failing pharmacy providers and protect employees’ pay and rights.
In a parliamentary debate on the Health Bill on September 7, MPs proposed a number of amendments concerning community pharmacy decision-making and provision.
One proposed amendment would allow ICBs to intervene where a pharmacy provider “seriously fails to meet contractual, safety or workforce obligations” - including by suspending or terminating arrangements with that provider.
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Another would give ICBs the power to act more swiftly against providers failing to deliver necessary services in order to “protect patients and medicines supply”.
MPs also proposed that the government and ICBs be required to “support new and independent pharmacy owners taking over failing, closed or disrupted pharmacies”, and ensure that pharmacy funding reflects “the additional costs of providing services in rural and sparsely populated areas”.
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And a new clause was proposed to “protect pharmacy staff’s pay and essential employment rights when a provider fails”, while also supporting the continuity of services.
Liberal Democrat MP for West Dorset Edward Morello said the collapse of Jhoots Pharmacy last year demonstrated the “limits of the current regulatory framework, which was largely designed around independent pharmacies, not large companies controlling extensive pharmacy networks”.
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“Amendment 55 would give the secretary of state powers to require an ICB to intervene where there is a serious risk to patient safety or medicine supply - something we did not have to tackle the Jhoots crisis,” he added.
He said the proposed amendments to the Health Bill are “exactly the powers that the minister told [him] they needed a year ago in order to act”, but the government has “not accepted” them.
Action “has not come”
During the debate, Morello referenced an urgent question he made in parliament last October regarding the adequacy of Jhoots as a pharmacy provider.
He said this resulted in “cross-party support for legislative action”, but that such action “has not come from the government”.
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“All these proposals are designed to improve the bill, but they will all be rejected and that is a shame,” Morello said.
He also stressed the need for a “joined-up NHS, accessible NHS dentistry, sustainable GP practices, resilient pharmacies, modern infrastructure and funding systems that recognise the realities of rural Britain and coastal healthcare”.
“I hope the government will listen,” he said.
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The proposed Bill amendments concerning community pharmacy were not addressed by health minister Karin Smyth, who focused on other issues in her summation.
It comes after the government in June proposed reforms that would give ICBs new powers to “strengthen action” over “inadequate provision” of pharmacy services.
And it follows C+D exclusively revealing in April that there was “no expectation” of locums receiving the fees they are owed by Jhoots.
