RPSGB Responds To Pharmacy White Paper: Proposals For Legislative Change

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 26 Nov 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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The English Pharmacy Board (EPB) of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) has submitted its response to the consultation on proposals for legislative change to the White Paper, Pharmacy in England: Building on strengths - delivering the future.

Howard Duff, RPSGB Director for England, says:

"The White Paper points to a bright future for pharmacy in England and we are encouraged that the proposed actions and future aspirations outlined focus on patient benefit. The consultation has given us an opportunity to shape many of the problematic areas of the current contractual framework. However, it is disappointing that the issue of dispensing doctors is included in the Paper as it detracts from the core issue of progressing important pharmacy services.

"We will continue to work to influence government legislation for pharmacy to ensure that the best health outcomes for patients are achieved. We are very pleased at how the pharmacy organisations have come together to achieve the vision for pharmacy set out in the White Paper."

The key summary points from the EPB response are:

Market entry

The EPB recognises the need to improve the current market entry system, and supports, in principle, market entry based on an assessment of need. However before Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) based market entry can be endorsed, the EPB would like to see more detail of the proposed standards, application and accountability of PNAs. It is also vital that the PNAs are integrated with other primary care planning processes.

100 hour a week pharmacies

The primary purpose of 100 hour pharmacies was to increase the availability of out-of-hours pharmacy services. While this has occurred, and essential tier services have been more widely available, out-of-hours enhanced services have not. In the transition period, before PNA-based market entry is in place, the public will benefit from mechanisms that allow Primary Care Trusts to commission services out of hours. Local Pharmaceutical Service contracts could be one such method, creating a much needed barrier to 'honey pot' 100 hour exemption applications.

Dispensing doctors

The principal issues for the EPB concerning dispensing surgeries are patient safety, and the quality of medicines services. Dispensing practice in pharmacies is currently inspected and regulated by the RPSGB, dispensing in surgeries does not have the same degree of regulatory oversight.

The EPB accept the need for some patients to have access to dispensing services through their GP surgeries where they are otherwise unable to access a community pharmacy. However, all standards that apply to dispensing in pharmacies need also to be applied to dispensing surgeries.

Supplementary lists

There is considerable merit in pharmacists being treated in the same way as other professions through supplementary lists. Not doing so would hinder the profession's need to be treated on a level playing field with other health care professions.

However, there are considerable differences between the pharmacy workforce in England and that of other healthcare professions. In particular, while the majority of pharmacists in England work for the NHS (or its contractors) only a small minority are employed directly by the NHS. In addition, the pharmacy workforce is increasingly mobile. These differences must be accounted for and managed.

To view the EPB's full response to the White Paper visit the RPSGB's website at: http://www.rpsgb.org/pdfs/consdoc1679.pdf.

Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

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