“Pharmacy First – the negotiations on that were just horrendous,” CPE director of pharmacy funding Mike Dent this month (October 13) told delegates at the Pharmacy Show in Birmingham.
During a community pharmacy funding masterclass, Dent said that it “took a lot of persuading” to get pharmacies “a couple of grand [in] upfront payment” for the service.
Read more: ‘Not your money’: CPE admits £645m Pharmacy First cash ‘unlikely to be spent’
He added that the negotiator was “working on the thresholds” of Pharmacy First consultations that pharmacies must complete to qualify for a monthly payment.
“We’re trying to make sure those thresholds are reasonable and proportionate,” Dent said.
“What can you afford for that mate”
On the second day of the Pharmacy Show (October 14), CPE chief executive Janet Morrison shared her “shopping trolley” contract negotiation analogy with delegates.
“The government turns up at the checkout at the supermarket with its trolley and [it has] stashed in everything it had last year, but everything’s in…bumper packs [for] a bigger price,” she said.
Read more: Kinnock: ‘Pharmacies are private businesses’ and closures ‘reflect many factors’
When the government says “this is all I’ve got in my wallet”, the negotiator can show it that the amount “will only cover however much of this trolley so you either put more money in your wallet and pay us more, or you’re going to have to take out tons from the trolley”, she added.
“When we’ve shaken out all your wallets, then we’ll discuss what you’ve got left in the shopping trolley - but don’t say you haven’t got the money,” Morrison said.
Read more: Funding talks to resume after October 30 budget, says CPE
“It must be very clear that whatever is put on the table we will go back and analyse – what can you afford for that then mate? Well, that contract is not going to be yours,” she added.
Morrison also told delegates that some of the “up to” £645 million promised for Pharmacy First in May last year had already been used for “blood pressure and contraception [services] overspill”.
“Not yet concluded”
Yesterday, pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock told MPs that “the consultation with CPE on the national funding and contractual framework arrangements for 2024/25 has not yet been concluded”.
“We are looking into this as a matter of urgency,” he added.
But earlier this month, Morrison said that negotiations on the next community pharmacy contract will only resume after the upcoming budget speech on October 30.
Read more: Kinnock: Pharmacy reimbursement ‘does not aim’ to repay ‘as much’ as drugs cost
Meanwhile in September, CPE’s NHS services director Alastair Buxton revealed that NHSE was “quite clear” on its multimillion-pound Pharmacy First investment – “if you earn it, you get it, but it’s not your money”.
That month, CPE also announced that it expected negotiations for the pharmacy contractual framework, which were originally set to conclude in March, to “resume soon”.
