The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has released a “six-step test” to “pressure test any future contractual frameworks”, it announced today (April 11).
It said the six steps would secure a future contractual framework that “genuinely supports pharmacists, ensures safe patient care, and guarantees the long-term sustainability of community pharmacy”.
The “six-step test” for future funding contracts will be assessed by the PDA against the following:
- Appropriate timing and pace: checking if any new services be introduced at a realistic pace, ensuring safe and effective delivery
- Training and preparedness: seeing if pharmacists and the wider pharmacy team have protected time for essential training before the rollout of new or expanded services
- Workforce capacity and safety: understanding if the contract ensures adequate staffing levels and the right skill mix to maintain patient safety and service accessibility
- Integrated healthcare pathways: checking if effective IT systems and referral pathways are in place to support seamless collaboration with the wider NHS
- Inter-professional collaboration: confirming if other healthcare professionals will be informed about their role in supporting any new or expanding pharmacy services
- Public awareness and demand management: looking at if there will be a robust public information campaign to set patient expectations and demand
It follows the announcement by the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) and Community Pharmacy England (CPE) last week (March 31) which increased CPCF funding in 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Read more: It’s time for frontline workers to be part of funding negotiations
The PDA said a recent member survey found “98% of pharmacists believe their representatives must be involved in discussions when commissioners plan new or expand existing services”.
It said there is “no direct input from the workforce that will ultimately be responsible for delivering these services” as negotiations are done between the “government and employer/business owner representatives only.”
PDA director of pharmacy Jay Badenhorst said pharmacy services “cannot succeed if they are designed without the input of those who deliver them”.
He added the current framework has “limited mechanisms to ensure that those on the pharmaceutical services list consistently meet the agreed terms of service”.
Read more: Funding breakdown: Write-offs, service payments and activity fees
He also said contract discussions need to go “beyond financial negotiations and prioritise the practical realities of community pharmacy” and that “if these discussions result in an underfunded or unworkable framework, it is pharmacists, alongside their patients, who will suffer the consequences”.
And he added: “No one would buy something, and then afterwards negotiate what the features and benefits are so, why should this approach be suitable for these negotiations?
“The profession is at a crossroads and without urgent reform, unsustainable workloads and workforce shortages could undermine the sector’s ability to deliver the safe, high-quality care that patients expect.”
Read more: All the headlines: Community pharmacy funding deal
It comes after Badenhorst said the new CPCF funding contract left “the fundamental issues facing frontline pharmacists … unaddressed”.
And he wrote for C+D in February about the need for frontline workers to be a part of funding negotiations as doing so “without workforce representation, and behind closed doors, is not acceptable”.
