NPA warns of service cuts if funding deal falls short of minimum tests

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned that it would go ahead with the planned collective action if consultations on the current financial year’s funding do not commence this month and if a proposed deal fails to meet their minimum tests. New estimates from the NPA show that if collective action goes ahead, over 17,000 hours of pharmacy time per week could be lost to patients, totaling around 900,000 hours over the course of the year. The organisation has laid out five key tests that any funding package from the government must meet. It has demanded that the government and NHS England present an offer that meets rising costs, starts to bridge historic funding gaps and gives a roadmap to a sustainable financial future, along with reform of the broken Drug Tariff. Additionally, the NPA stated that the current system of pharmacy remuneration for medicine supply, which often results in dispensing at a loss, must undergo fundamental change as part of long-term reforms.