Funding

A London integrated care board (ICB) is “working to understand” a national dip in Pharmacy First referrals from GPs in the summer, C+D has learned.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has set out five “tests” for a funding deal and warned that it will “not hesitate” to recommend collective action if these are not met.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to review the ongoing issue of pharmacies dispensing at a loss after the topic was raised at PMQs last week, when one MP stated that a local contractor had been “forced to pay over 100 times more” for certain medications.

CPE has said that while it is “positive” that the government has “partially” accepted the majority of recommendations in the health and social care committee’s (HSCC) pharmacy report, there are still “some significant disappointments”.

As we enter the new year, pharmacies have filed their annual accounts – with reports ranging from “satisfactory” profits to multimillion-pound losses...

The GP body has warned that “any closures” in the pharmacy network will add pressure to GPs “struggling to meet demand”.

New caps on the maximum number of paid Pharmacy First consultations have begun this month, rising between 55% and 94% across different types of pharmacies.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned that it will have “little choice but to advise pharmacies to take collective action later this month” if delays to the pharmacy contract negotiations continue.

MPs have called for “financial incentives” to be introduced to encourage GPs to "work with pharmacies” and engage with the Pharmacy First service, amid new plans for Pharmacy First ear, nose and throat (ENT) services.

As industry giant David Vanns moves into an advisory role at Weldricks after three decades with the company, he shares his thoughts on funding negotiations, DSPs, hub and spoke, and the future for pharmacy’s family businesses in an exclusive Q&A with C+D...