The Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) chair has given NHS England (NHSE) until March 14 to respond to questions asked on the long-awaited economic analysis of community pharmacy in England.
The Liberal Democrat’s Layla Moran today (February 27) wrote to outgoing NHSE chief executive Amanda Pritchard for updates on the analysis looking at the “costs of delivering NHS pharmaceutical services, the sustainability of the funding model and other clinical services”.
Read more: Pharmacy leaders demand DH ‘immediately’ publish economic analysis
She said she would be “grateful” for updates and would “appreciate” a reply “no later than 14th March” from NHSE to the following questions:
- When you anticipate this analysis to be fully completed?
- Do you intend to publish the analysis, and accompanying data, in full?
- If so, when will it be published?
- If not, why, and what will you publish instead?
And today Pharmacy Minister Stephen Kinnock said that work on the review “is nearing completion and will be published at the earliest opportunity”.
Last week (February 17), Community Pharmacy England (CPE) said it had considered the draft findings of the NHSE economic review into pharmacy and sent comments back to the report’s authors, healthcare data company IQVIA and consultancy Frontier Economics.
Read more: CPE mulling over ‘initial’ funding offer - as it bumps up LPC levy 2%
The National Pharmacy Association chair Nick Kaye reacted to the HSCC’s letter to NHSE and said: “We’re pleased to see that the Health Select Committee is seeking an urgent update on the full publication of the Independent Economic Analysis.
“The NPA has called for much needed transparency - there is no reason why this document cannot be published immediately. It is vitally important the public can fully understand the financial pressures affecting community pharmacy before any offer is put forward by the government.”
The Independent Pharmacies Association chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck said “we have been very vocal issuing several statements about the urgency of this report to be published and we have also been in regular contact with Parliamentarians to this effect”.
Read more: Long-awaited NHSE pharmacy economic review to begin in March
“This is indeed good news that the Health and Social Care Committee have heard community pharmacies’ voice regarding the importance of this report to be published and have written to NHS England to enquire about it,” Hannbeck said.
“We are asking that the officials release this report, which was funded by the taxpayers, to the public as soon as possible.”
Updates
Sector leaders had previously demanded the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) to publish its economic review into community pharmacy earlier this month.
C+D reported last year that officials last year said it would “inform any future decision on the funding of community pharmacies”.
NHSE last month told C+D it was waiting for the analysis to finish after it started last March, and it expects it to conclude early this year.
Read more: IN FULL: CPE sets out April to July ‘timeframe’ to deliver new contract
It added that it is “committed to publishing this important report, but...currently unable to give any further details while consultations are ongoing”.
Moran’s letter to NHSE also said that the HSCC “understand that negotiations are ongoing for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF)” and said the previous government’s HSCC found the current CPCF “not fit for purpose” in its pharmacy inquiry completed in May 2024.
Read more: IN FULL: Long delayed funding contract negotiations finally open
Earlier this month, CPE set out a “timeframe” of April to July 2025 to “conclude and implement 2024/25 and 2025/26 negotiations” for the pharmacy contract under a draft workplan for its services team.
This followed the beginning on negotiations as the DH last month announced it had “entered into consultation with CPE regarding the 2024/25 and 2025/26 funding contractual framework”.
