The Pharmacists’ Defence Association Union (PDAU) today (19 Feb 2016) issued a scathing attack on the government proposal to cut £170 million from the pharmacy global sum in the latter six months of the 2016/17 financial year and proposed to the pharmacy minister, Alistair Burt, potential alternative sources of savings than reducing patient services in community pharmacies. It asked the Government to put patients first and look at the margins of wholesalers and vertically integrated multiple pharmacies before cutting services.
In a letter to Mr Burt, PDAU General Secretary John Murphy said that the union recognised that the country is in a period of austerity and accepted that whilst pharmacy must play its part, introducing cuts that would reduce access to front-line patient care is not the answer.
The PDAU also fears that the Government plans to remove the requirement for qualified pharmacists to be present in pharmacies, and asked Mr Burt to allay its fears by confirming that this was not the case.
‘We believe that the Government, in diminishing patient-facing services, is looking in the wrong place to secure these [savings]’ wrote John Murphy, General Secretary of the PDAU. ‘We believe that cutting the number of community pharmacies using a crude method which renders them financially unviable is not the answer. Instead, savings may potentially be found in the supply chain which would avoid cuts to patient services.’
The PDAU went on to say that not only could the cuts seriously undermine a strong public health network by paring down the number of pharmacies, but also that the move imperils smaller businesses.
John Murphy reminded the minister that he had told the ‘All-Party’ Parliamentary Group on pharmacy on 13 January 2016 that multiple pharmacies are more likely to be able to cope with the cuts than smaller independents. The PDAU urged him to look at whether large organisations that own vertically integrated wholesalers, some of which have pharmacies located in NHS hospitals, may make profits from the NHS which are not visible to the Government or the public. By contrast, the margins on community pharmacy dispensing by independent pharmacies and manufacturer sales of branded medicines are monitored and controlled by the Department of Health.
The PDAU further reminded the minister of the Government’s letter to Sue Sharpe, Chief Executive of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), on 17 December 2015, which stated that there is a ‘real potential for far greater use of community pharmacy and pharmacists’ and that community pharmacy could ‘help relieve the pressure on GPs and Accident and Emergency Departments’.
The PDAU believes the cuts are a kneejerk reaction to a treasury demand. It called for a postponement of the planned cuts whilst a publicly-held inquiry takes place, to examine:
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the impact of the funding cuts and pharmacy closures on patient safety and care and the UK healthcare infrastructure
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whether the continuation of vertically integrated wholesaler / pharmacy operations is in the public interest
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whether breaking up or regulating such arrangements would release public funds, reduce the NHS savings required and improve patient-facing services
The PDAU formally requested that the Government postpone cuts to the pharmacy global sum until an inquiry has been held as set out above, allowing all stakeholders to make representations and for the public, the Government and the profession to be given time to agree a way forward which protects patient care and the UK healthcare infrastructure and ensures appropriate regulation of public expenditure.
The PDAU also supports the petition of the government to stop the pharmacy cuts, and applauds individual pharmacists for their efforts here, on social media and elsewhere to draw the public’s attention to the issues.
The petition is now closed.