In response to the news that there will be no new funding this year within the CPCF https://psnc.org.uk/our-news/first-annual-review-of-cpcf-paves-way-for-year-4-negotiations/, NPA chief executive Mark Lyonette said today:
“It appears this annual contract review has rubber-stamped another year of cuts for pharmacies across England.
“This is an insult to pharmacy teams, who have worked relentlessly hard to help keep the country on its feet during the covid pandemic.
“The tone of the announcement seems to indicate that cuts are likely to continue for at least the remainder of the five-year CPCF term.
“We cannot possibly accept that outcome.
“Costs are up, in some cases very considerably, public demand for pharmacy support has surged, workload pressures have intensified and many staff are demotivated. All this when the NHS needs a well-functioning sector to help it clear the backlog of care caused by the pandemic. This should be a time for investment in achieving stated goals, not for continued attrition.
“Instead of moving forwards into new clinical roles, which the NHS and DHSC say they want, pharmacies could now slip back, focus narrowly on dispensing and reduce access to care – the very opposite of the aspirations stated in the NHS Plan.
“Governments, NHS and negotiators elsewhere in the UK are working to agreed visions and decently funded strategies. England should follow suit and jettison the nonsense that great services can be provided on a shorter and shorter shoestring.”