 PSNC is seeking a Judicial Review of the Secretary of State’s October decision to implement cuts to community pharmacy funding and other changes.
PSNC has sought permission from the High Court to apply for the Judicial Review on the grounds that it believes the Secretary of State failed to carry out a lawful consultation on the proposals for community pharmacy. An ‘expedited hearing’ has been requested, so that if permission to seek Judicial Review is granted, the hearing will take place as soon as practicable. PSNC accepts the need for the NHS to achieve efficiencies within the community pharmacy sector and is not challenging this principle, but it does not believe that the consultation process on the proposals that are now being implemented complied with the requirements of a lawful consultation. PSNC believes that the Department of Health (DH) has used poor data which it did not disclose as a basis for its decision, rather than updating existing high quality data. PSNC’s application raises a number of concerns about the consultation, including:
“PSNC’s role is to represent community pharmacy contractors. We have always sought to do this by working positively with the NHS to ensure that community pharmacies can do their best to meet the needs of the NHS, patients and local communities, and that the NHS recognises and acknowledges the value they provide. PSNC has spent the past twelve months trying to work constructively with the Department of Health and NHS England to enable community pharmacy to help the NHS to meet the increasing challenges that it faces. We have sought to avoid taking legal action and very much regret that the process the NHS has followed has made this impossible.” Dave Carter, Gateshead & South Tyneside LPC Chair said: "Pharmacy has always been willing to work constructively with the NHS however this year has been a tough year and it is really sad that it has come to this however I believe (and I am sure most contractors will believe) that this is the right course of action since the department of health have not engaged with the PSNC and worse still not followed due process."
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 PSNC has launched a series of webinars (broadcast each Wednesday) to help community pharmacy contractors to understand the imposition of funding and other changes recently made by the Government.
You can access the webinars through the PSNC website where you can sign up to take part or alternatively listen on demand to missed webinars. The series covers many aspects and is well worth watching live or listening again to help you gain an understand of the impact. PSNC also tweet on the night using the #pharmacychanges which you can follow to keep up with all that is going on. The direct link to the webinars is http://psnc.org.uk/psncs-work/our-events/register-your-interest-in-our-webinar/  The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), has launched a legal challenge to the Department of Health's decision to cut community pharmacy funding in England with effect from 1 December 2016. The NPA’s challenge is partly based on the Department of Health’s failure to consider the impact its cuts will have on the elderly, the disabled and people from BME (black and minority ethnic) communities. Had the Department of Health properly considered the impact of its cuts, it would have realised that the cuts will have a disproportionate effect on people with legally protected characteristics and those who live in the most deprived areas of England, where there is already a lack of NHS healthcare provision. Chairman of the NPA, Ian Strachan, explained: “Despite protests from patients, health care professionals, MPs and local government, Ministers have so far persisted with plans for cuts that will hit the poorest communities and the most vulnerable patients hardest. We have been reasonable and measured throughout our campaign to secure a viable future for local pharmacies. It is a shame that we have been driven to a position in which we have no option but to take legal avenues. Even at this stage, we invite the Department of Health to step back from the precipice and enter into constructive discussions about a positive way forward for the sector and the NHS.” Andrea James, a Partner at LHS Solicitors who acts on behalf of the NPA, said: “This is a significant challenge to the Department of Health, which has failed to carry out any effective Equality Impact Assessment to understand the effect of its illogical cuts on patients and community pharmacies. The NPA is bringing this challenge to protect some of the most deprived communities across England and the dedicated pharmacists who serve them”. It is understood that other legal actions involving parties other than the NPA are also being considered. |
Pharmacy Future 2016
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