Agenda item

(To receive a report from Simon Evans (Health Scrutiny Officer) which asks the Committee to consider the potential impact of the funding reductions to community pharmacies in Lincolnshire.  Steve Mosley (Chief Officer – Lincolnshire Local Pharmaceutical Committee) will be in attendance for this item)

A report by Simon Evans, Health Scrutiny Officer, was considered which asked the Committee to consider the potential impact of the funding reductions to community pharmacies in Lincolnshire.

Steve Mosley (Chief Officer – Lincolnshire Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC)) was in attendance for this item.

The Committee was advised that the Department of Health had begun a consultation with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) on 17 December 2015.  This was entitled "Community Pharmacy in 2016/17 and Beyond" and took the form of an open letter from the Director General of Innovation, Growth and Technology at the Department of Health and the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at NHS England. 

The closing date for all responses to the consultation was originally 24 March 2016 although the closing date for the consultation on the Drug Tariff determinations was extended to 24 May 2016.  The consultation date deadline for the Pharmacy Integration Fund element of the consultation remained 24 March 2016 and closed on that date.

The letter advised that under the funding settlement for 2016/17 community pharmacies would receive no more than £2.63 billion, which represented £170m reduction (6.1%) from the £2.8 billion allocated in 2015/16.  This reduction was to be delivered through Drug Tariff amendments in the six months from October 2016.

The impact of community pharmacy services across Lincolnshire would be significant as the county was currently underserved by community pharmacies at present compared to England as a whole.  Despite 40% of Lincolnshire residents being served by dispensing doctors due to the rurality of the county, 121 pharmacies in Lincolnshire dispensed approximately 50% more prescription items than an average pharmacy in England.   It was thought, therefore, that the proposed funding cut via the Drug Tariff adjustment would have a more punitive impact on Lincolnshire community pharmacies than the average pharmacy.

Lincolnshire Local Pharmaceutical Committee contended that the Department of Health should actively invest in community pharmacies to take pressure off GPs, A&E Departments, Minor Injury Units and Out-of-Hours services.

It was confirmed that this item had not been referred to the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire for direct consultation.  The item provided information on a consultation undertaken by the Department of Health with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and other representative organisations.  In the view of the Lincolnshire Local Pharmaceutical Committee, the proposals were likely to impact on the level of pharmacy services in Lincolnshire.

Members were given the opportunity to ask questions, during which the following points were noted:-

·       The Committee was surprised that people with minor ailments should be advised to seek support from community pharmacists, following the recent closure of the A&E Department at County Hospital, given that the Department of Health was suggesting the closure of many community pharmacies;

·       It was thought that the budget cuts had come from the Treasury and, as the Department of Health was unable to cut frontline services further, Community Pharmacies had been targeted;

·       The decision of which community pharmacies would be closed would be difficult, especially in rural Lincolnshire as pharmacies were currently supplying certain services free of charge in order to remain open;

At 3.20pm, Councillor Mrs J M Renshaw left and did not return.

·       It was thought that some of the larger chains of pharmacies would look at some of their outlying branches and reconsider provision.  There were a number of pharmacy clusters within towns which were all busy.  This may provide an opportunity for owners of more than one branch to merge services in order to assist with the reduction of the number of community pharmacies within the county.  At present, the merger of two pharmacies would create the opportunity for another provider to open another pharmacy;

At 3.25pm, Councillor Mrs R Kaberry-Brown left and did not return.

·       It was confirmed that the Local Government Association (LGA) had responded to the consultation.  It was acknowledged that every local authority across the country was faced with financial pressures.  Pharmacies provided a diverse range of services for public health on an outreach basis to rural areas and communities without duplicating services and staffing;

·       The Consultation had not been launched as a public consultation, Health Scrutiny Committees, nationally, had not been asked to respond and it was thought that this had been a mistake;

The Committee agreed that they should have been given the opportunity to respond to the Consultation.  In order to submit the views of the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire, the Chairman proposed that a letter be written to the Department of Health, copied to Lincolnshire MPs and relevant others, referring to the proposed change as a substantial variation and outlining the Committee's opposition to any proposal which would lead to a reduction in pharmacies in Lincolnshire.

RESOLVED

1.    That the report and comments be noted; and

2.    That authority be delegated to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire to write to the Secretary of State for Health referring to the proposals as a substantial variation and outlining the Committee's opposition to any proposal which would lead to a reduction in pharmacies in Lincolnshire.