As the news of the 10% uplift to the contract breaks, CPE committee members have explained why they felt they had no option but to accept the terms of the government’s offer.
Fin McCaul, negotiating team member, chair of the service development subcommittee, and a regional representative, said: “Offer decisions are always very challenging, and this time was no different.
“Every committee member knows what the ongoing economic funding gap means for their businesses and personal circumstances, as well as for colleagues and friends across the sector.
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“Rejecting this offer would not have helped any of us. It would have shown our discontent, and possibly made us feel good for a moment, but it would not have eased the rising costs and demands we are facing.
“Worse, it could have reduced the funding available from next April, as ministers might have de-prioritised the sector amid so many competing pressures on health budgets.”
Inescapable
Peter Cattee, negotiating team member, chair of the funding and contract subcommittee, and a non-CCA multiple representative, said: “My focus is now firmly on delivering the shared reform agenda.
“It is the most important part of this settlement, and work must begin without delay. Pharmacy owners are crying out for realistic long-term solutions to the sector’s underlying problems, the issue is not managing decline, but confronting it.
“We will push DHSC to review the current funding model, tackle loss-making dispensing, and ensure core NHS services are economically sustainable.
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“There must also be meaningful engagement on network capacity and future planning to secure long-term structural stability.
“A significant part of the network has become trapped in a seemingly inescapable cycle of losses and that cannot continue as it will inevitably lead to degradation of standards and service.
“Now is the moment for government to grasp that investment in training, premises and technology, not pharmacy contracts, is the true measure of stability in the sector and that this is a prerequisite for its own vision to succeed.”
Quickly
Stephen Thomas, negotiating team member and a CCA representative, said: “This settlement brings some recognition from government of the sector’s needs.
“But with pharmacy businesses still facing rising costs and increasing demand, it is critical that the contractual easements and joint reform programme move quickly.
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“I am also conscious that the government has delayed on similar promises before, which is why we will keep up the pressure to ensure they are delivered.
“We are committed to working constructively with government and NHS England to shape a future model that is both clinically ambitious and financially sustainable, but they should remember that trust does run out.”
Lobby hard
Mike Hewitson, committee member and an NPA representative, said: “As many in the sector will know, launching Independent Prescribing was at the top of my list for the future of community pharmacy.
“It is strategically important and helps pave the way for the wider clinical future we all want. But in negotiating with government, we faced impossible choices.
Read more: How industry bodies reacted to the contract news
“Ministers secured the funding they could, but it is clear the allocation for IP will not be enough for many pharmacy owners to take on the additional clinical responsibility.
“By accepting this deal, we hope to signal our continued commitment to IP, and we will now lobby hard for further investment so it can become a genuine success from the next financial year onwards.”
