The NPA joined Sigma Pharmaceuticals for a webinar about hub and spoke dispensing on Wednesday night (26 May).
Patient safety, costs and competition issues were put under the microscope, as well as practicalities such as what to do with uncollected medicines.
NPA Director of Corporate Affairs Gareth Jones chaired the event and was alongside NPA Vice Chair Nick Kaye and NPA Head of Advice and Support Services Jasmine Shah, as well as Sigma’s Hatul Shah and Raj Haria.
Nick said: “There are still many ‘unknown unknowns’ with hub and spoke and the jury’s still out on any potential benefits. I have lots of reservations about cost and it worries me how efficient this is for the business and the long term sustainability for the sector as a whole. Above all we need to think about the patient at the centre of all this and the potential confusion for them.”
A Department of Health and Social Care consultation on hub and spoke closes on 8 June and the NPA is encouraging it’s members to respond. The consultation includes a model in which hubs supply medicines directly to patients, bypassing the pharmacy spokes.
Sigma’s CEO, Hatul Shah, dismissed the hub to patient model because it cannot match local pharmacies for “service, advice and care”.
Here’s a recording of the webinar – it’s well worth a watch for any community pharmacy considering the potential impact of hub and spoke on their operations.
You can respond to the government’s consultation on hub and spoke here.