"It Will Be Implementation That Matters" Says The CCA, UK

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 16 May 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) welcomed The NHS Next Stage Review Leading Local Change paper and the Government's five pledges to change in the NHS.

Georgina Craig, who leads on commissioning policy for the CCA comments: "Lord Darzi's five pledges are important, but largely self evident. It goes without saying that change must benefit patients, and that all stakeholders must be involved in decision making. Of course clinical evidence is key. And it would be fundamentally wrong to withdraw services until replacements are well embedded in practice. From a CCA perspective, it matters not that Lord Darzi has made these pledges, but that he and the Government are committed to honouring them in new and fundamentally different ways, moving forward.

In ten years' time the NHS needs to be completely transformed, so today's policy must enable innovation and support fundamental, lasting change.

The NHS must engage patients, carers and professionals in the design of radically different health services. This is challenging and will require the use of new methodologies, including techniques borrowed from market research, to help everyone think outside the box.

The NHS must also recognise and more skilfully broker existing providers' interests, and through joined up commissioning policy and contractual arrangements, ensure that everybody benefits from change if they contribute to it.

It also needs to recognise that innovative new services do not always start with a strong evidence base, but a focus on a common set of measurable health outcomes and service quality indicators will lead to a range of service models that can be delivered effectively alongside each other.

We believe that localisation is important, but this agenda must be tempered with a common sense approach. As in most areas of life, the 80/20 rule probably applies. PCTs populations are more similar than they are different. If core services are needed across localities, then let's commission them that way. This ensures value for money by enabling providers to build in economies of scale. It also frees local commissioners to focus their energies on specific local problem areas.

There is so much to do. We will see quicker progress if we take a pragmatic approach."

The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) provides a forum for its member companies to work together to create an environment where community pharmacy can flourish, and where contractors compete in a fair and equitable way. Our nine members - Boots, The Co-operative pharmacy, Lloydspharmacy, Tesco, J Sainsbury, Wm Morrison Supermarkets, Asda Wal-Mart, Rowlands Pharmacy and Superdrug operate over 6,000 pharmacies - more than 50% of all the pharmacies in the United Kingdom.

The Company Chemists' Association