Proposals to create specialist pharmacists could work well but now is the wrong time to ask NHS England for long-term investment, PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe has told C+D.

Ms Sharpe cautiously backed proposals from the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) to contract specialist pharmacists to take full responsibility for patient care, in an exclusive interview with C+D on Sunday (October 20).

But she stressed that the sector would need to look at the practicalities of the PDA's road map for England, submitted to the government earlier this month. Funding pressures would prove "quite an obstacle" to splitting the sector into specialist clinic pharmacists and patient-facing pharmacists, she warned.

This is not a good time to ask the NHS for upfront investment with a long-term return, said PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe	More on the PDA road map Pharmacy network could ‘fall apart' if specialist contracts adopted Monitor adds weight to case for national minor ailments scheme Government could save millions under PDA plan for specialist pharmacist contracts
	The PDA says its model could generate overall savings of £140 million for the NHS, but it would require an initial investment of £498m.

"It's a whole new model... and it's not a good time to ask for upfront investment with a long-term return," Ms Sharpe argued. Any bids for new funding would need to be backed by strong evidence, Ms Sharpe added, as there was no money available to take risks.

"I think NHS England is looking at proposals for dramatic changes in the way we deliver care, but the evidence behind it has to be robust," she said.

This principle would apply to all future funding of pharmacy services, Ms Sharpe added. "I think it all comes down to the quality of the evidence," she stressed. "If I was a business, I would be saying: ‘Should I invest in this? When will I get my return?"

Ms Sharpe revealed that PSNC was keen to "have a dialogue" with the PDA about its proposals and stressed that the two organisations were not in conflict.