Delay in new hub and spoke legislation far from ideal

Community pharmacy is stuck in a vicious circle. Pharmacies are closing at an alarming rate whilst the government is talking about moving care away
from hospitals and into the community to focus on preventative care. While the government talks about this vision for the future, the stark reality is that
pharmacies are already struggling to meet the current Pharmacy First thresholds. And now we discover that one of the key components that could create capacity
in pharmacy to deliver more clinical services has been put on hold…indefinitely.

The recently published Darzi review, which was commissioned after the new government came to power to assess the state of the NHS, praised the value of community
pharmacies and preventative services. But it recognised the level of pharmacy closures across the country and warned pharmacy access could be ‘at risk’.

Community pharmacy is ideally placed to deliver the government’s vision of preventative care in the community. But let’s all be clear, moving preventative
services into community pharmacies has, so far, been nowhere near as successful as it could have been due to the current climate pharmacies find themselves in.
The Pharmacy First scheme is a testament to this.

Just this week it was announced that consultation thresholds for the Pharmacy First scheme have been reduced from 30 consultations to 20. It’s the second time
in three months that the thresholds have been reduced and it follows an intervention from Community Pharmacy England who wanted to “save many pharmacies from
missing out on a vital payment this month.” In June alone, 3,269 participating pharmacies failed to meet the threshold – that’s almost a third of all community
pharmacies in England.