GP leaders in England will vote on whether to lobby NHS England to ‘appropriately’ fund dispensing in community pharmacies and to put an end to pitting the two sectors against each other.

The national Local Medical Committee (LMCs) conference later this month will debate a motion focused on the ‘necessity’ of community pharmacy.

However, the same motion will also suggest funding for community pharmacy blood pressure checks be ‘terminated’.

Devon LMC will propose the motion which demands that:

  • NHS England funds community pharmacies ‘core work of dispensing appropriately’
  • The survival of pharmacies must not be made contingent ‘upon doing work traditionally and contractually the remit of general practice’
  • Funding for blood pressure checks in pharmacies be ‘terminated with immediate effect and the money put into pharmacy dispensing fees’
  • The ‘increasing tendency of NHS England to pit general practice and community pharmacy against each other in zero-sum games for scant funding be ended’
  • And that Pharmacy First schemes ‘follow guidelines on prescribing and ensure appropriate antibiotic stewardship’

In principle, motions passed at the LMC conference then become policy for the BMA’s GP Committee to take forward.

Last month the government admitted it does not hold information on how many and what proportion of community pharmacies dispense medications at a loss.

But sector leaders warned pharmacies ‘frequently’ found themselves ‘losing out’.

Commenting on the motion, National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chair Nick Kaye said: ‘Naturally we agree that the NHS ought to fund community pharmacy’s dispensing role adequately.

‘The safe supply of medicines is a vitally important element of health care, yet dispensing has been underfunded for years.’

However, he stressed that ‘we very much support the development of pharmacy-based NHS clinical services that improve access and choice, especially where these can provide more convenient care for patients and relieve pressure on other parts of primary care including general practice’.

Mr Kaye added: ‘The NHS will only meet the growing needs and expectations of our ageing population if it makes the most of capacity and skills across the whole system.

‘Pharmacists want to be team players, with all professions in primary and secondary care respecting each other’s skills and working together in the interests of patients.’

Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA), said he fully supported that community pharmacy’s core role of dispensing should be funded appropriately.

‘Dispensing accounts for 85% of the contractual framework’s funding and pharmacists’ NHS workload,’ he said.

‘Without increased funding for dispensing and the drug tariff, we risk slipping into a rolling cycle of pharmacy closures, shortages and concessions which serves nobody’s interests.’

Mr Harrison added: ‘We also agree that general practice and community pharmacy should always work in a collaborative and complementary manner in the best interests of their collective patients.

‘The reality is that pressure on general practice is incredibly high, and pharmacies can provide a vital release valve.

‘Modern healthcare requires a multi-disciplinary model, combining the skills of professionals across primary care.’

Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA), added that dispensing ‘must be adequately funded’ and that pharmacies ‘can and should work collaboratively to reduce pressure on GPs by delivering services to allow them to deal with complex patient cases’.

‘GPs and pharmacies should grasp the opportunity jointly to improve the nation’s health,’ she added.

This week The Pharmacist revealed that two-thirds of community pharmacists had been negatively impacted by GP collective action in recent months.

A separate motion at the LMC conference will also see GP leaders vote on whether the BMA should ramp up collective action based on concern that it is ‘not having enough impact’.

NHS England was approached for comment.