Mike Smith puts the world to rights…

Recent weeks have seen significant upheaval within the political climate in the UK. While I do always strive to be apolitical in this column, I cannot help but draw comparisons between the national political situation and the world of community pharmacy.

Many of our leaders who supported the referendum’s Leave campaign have now resigned, leaving it to others to take the situation forward.

Since the proposed pharmacy funding cuts announcement made last December:

• Keith Ridge has clearly had second thoughts about the proposed hub and spoke model he used as part of the “justification” for the original £170 million cut
• Pharmacy minister Alistair Burt back-tracked on his prediction that up to 3,000 pharmacies could close as a result of the planned funding cuts, saying “it is not the aim of the government to close pharmacies”
• And to top it off, Mr Burt has resigned, although, of course, health secretary Jeremy Hunt has stayed in post.

Where does this all leave us?

Now more than ever, we need to think more clearly and strategically about the future of community pharmacy, and it concerns me that the ongoing divisions within our professional and negotiating bodies do not fill me with confidence.

It really is time for us to become more assertive, and we have to drive community pharmacy forward. For example, let’s learn from how pharmacy in Norway has outright refused to be ignored by commissioners, GPs and paymasters, with great success.

One example of where we in the UK have turned apathy into action and are using our voice effectively, as my last column encouraged, is the NPA petition. This now has over two million signatures in support of pharmacy services, which is staggering, and Alliance Healthcare was pleased to be able to help distribute this. It was disappointing that the electronic parliamentary petition failed to reach the 100,000 signatures in the time required to trigger a parliamentary debate – but this did also collect an impressive 68,000 signatures. We must ensure that this strong message from the public is not forgotten.

Community pharmacy can be challenging enough given NHS budget controls and regulation. But to move community pharmacy forward, our professional and negotiating bodies need to work in unison to help each other perform – and, of course, doing this will ultimately enhance the most important aspect of community pharmacy: patient care.

Moreover, I do feel that it is absolutely vital that community pharmacists are better valued for the tremendous service they provide in their local communities. I recall some truly inspiring accounts at the 2016 Alphega Pharmacy conference earlier this year where passionate pharmacy professionals celebrated the delivery of exceptional services and patient care.

I would also like to highlight the words of my colleague Jeremy Main, managing director at Alliance Healthcare UK, in his presentation ‘A vision for healthcare distribution’, which he delivered at the recent inaugural annual Healthcare Distribution Association (HDA) conference.

Jeremy’s presentation highlighted the need for change and the importance of all healthcare professionals working together in the face of the economic pressures on healthcare distribution – a “shift in mindset from parochial to visionary, self-serving to collaborative.”

He also emphasised the fact that “we need to ensure that the patient care through pharmacy and distribution continues to be the best in the world,” finishing by saying: ”together we can drive change”. These are words that I fully support. There has never been a more important time for unity and some clear strategic thinking.

Coming back to Brexit – there has been a lot of speculation regarding the impact of leaving the EU, but one thing that will not change is the future introduction of the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD). This will come into force as of 9 February 2019, which is actually not too far away, and will impact upon all of our pharmacies. I urge you to start understanding the implications for your pharmacy and contribute to the evolution of the industry as a whole.

Something that has also changed is the exchange rate, and I urge all sectors to do their utmost to see that our patients are not denied supplies of their vital medicines due to any shortages. This is something that we need to keep a close watch on. It is time to think clearly and act responsibly.

Mike Smith is chairman of Alliance Healthcare, mike.h.smith@alliance-healthcare.co.uk