Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) yesterday (July 20) announced that it had accepted a funding offer for 2023/24 on behalf of the 1,256 pharmacies it represents across the country.
However, details remained scant, with the negotiator telling C+D that the Scottish government would provide the full breakdown of the global sum distribution as well as finalised figures.
Read more: Community Pharmacy Scotland agrees ‘adequate’ new funding offer for 2023/24
But a spokesperson for the Scottish government has now revealed some details about the new funding package.
They told C+D today (July 21) that the government was “pleased” that the negotiator has accepted a £12.3m uplift to the global sum, which they said is “the largest uplift to date”.
Read more: ‘Far short of what is needed’: CPS rejects government's 2023/24 funding offer
The spokesperson added that “full details” of the funding arrangements for 2023/24 will be published “in the coming days”.
“We will continue to work with CPS, ensuring patients have access to the full range of pharmaceutical care services,” they said.
“Adequate” funding offer
Announcing the new agreement, CPS yesterday said that the offer - reached after “protracted but constructive negotiations” - was “adequate” and gives pharmacies “some solid ground” after “a punishing and relentless” year.
However, it warned that the settlement “will not support the pace of service development” offered in Scotland’s community pharmacies in recent years, such as the Pharmacy First scheme.
Read more: Scottish government provides £20m pharmacy ‘interim cash injection’
CPS will “continue to work on the financial detail” of the offer over the next two years to ensure “a secure financial model” for Scotland’s community pharmacies, it said.
The negotiator revealed in May that it had rejected Holyrood’s initial funding offer for a 2023/24 financial package, saying that it “fell so far short of what is needed” to keep Scottish community pharmacies viable that the board “had no choice but to reject it in full”.
Read more: 'Our funding is rotten': Sector needs £1.1bn now, warns AIMp chief
Just days after CPS rejected Holyrood’s initial funding offer, it announced that the Scottish government had provided the country’s community pharmacies with a £20 million “interim” cash injection.
And it comes as Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp) boss Dr Hannbeck last week argued that an immediate £1.1 billion cash injection was needed to deal with economic pressures in England.
