PSNC expects funding deal before end of summer
Business Pharmacists can expect a new funding agreement before the end of summer, PSNC has pledged, despite encountering a fresh stumbling block in negotiations.
Pharmacists can expect a new funding agreement before the end of summer, PSNC has pledged, despite encountering a fresh stumbling block in negotiations.
The need to secure agreement from the fledgling NHS Commissioning Board would delay the process, but funding for 2012-13 and beyond should be finalised before late summer, PSNC told C+D after announcing last week (January 31) that it was unlikely to secure an agreement in the immediate future.
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"In recent years funding settlements for the year have not been confirmed until the late summer and we would expect negotiations to be concluded before then" Sue Sharpe, PSNC |
 More on funding negotiations
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The continuing delay, following the introduction in October of interim funding arrangements, was because of the involvement of the NHS Commissioning Board, which was "only just taking shape", PSNC said last week. But yesterday the negotiator's chief executive Sue Sharpe confirmed in a statement to C+D that this should not delay negotiations many months beyond April, when the board is set to assume its full responsibilities. |
PSNC: no funding agreement in immediate future|
"As the NHS Commissioning Board is still taking shape, we do not know exactly when the negotiations will be finalised," she said. "However, in recent years funding settlements for the year have not been confirmed until the late summer and we would expect negotiations to be concluded before then." PSNC has pledged to fight for a multi-year funding agreement in the next round of negotiations, which would take into account the "complex" work to update the cost of service inquiry (COSI), published in 2011. |
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What is the NHS Commissioning Board?The NHS Commissioning Board has been cited as a stumbling block in pharmacy funding negotiations. But what is the board and how does it affect the sector? ● Improving health outcomes across England is the main aim of the NHS Commissioning Board, which is due assume its full role on April 1. ● The independent board will be responsible for the direct commissioning of primary care services, as well as joint working with other NHS organisations such as clinical commissioning groups, networks and senates. ● The full list of board members has not yet been finalised, but Professor Malcolm Grant, president of University College London, will chair the organisation. Former DH director Ben Dyson will be the director of commissioning policy and primary care, although no one person is yet specifically working on pharmacy funding. ● The DH has said it wants to ensure key members of the board are aware of community pharmacy and existing negotiations, which means PSNC is unlikely to secure a community pharmacy funding agreement before the end of March. |
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Is a multi-year deal worth the wait for a funding agreement? Comment below or email us at [email protected] You can also find C+D on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook |
