PSNC CPCF Update: Price Concessions Clarification
Following the announcement of the CPCF arrangements for 2022/23 and 2023/24 the PSNC Committee have been grateful for the support of many of the national pharmacy bodies, LPCs and contractors. This was a difficult decision for the Committee to take, but we believe securing the £100m margin write-off and other benefits for contractors was a critical first step in seeking extra support for the sector.
PSNC has also noted the statement by the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIM) on the CPCF deal, which does not accurately reflect our position on price concessions.
PSNC Members are deeply concerned about price concessions as we know that pharmacies cannot continue to fund the gap between reimbursement and purchasing prices for some medicines. This is why we continue to challenge concessions on a month-by-month basis, and why we have insisted that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) resolve the unmanageable situation.
Given the urgency of the situation, we ensured that a firm commitment from Government to review the price concession system was included in the CPCF agreement. This helps us to hold them to account and ensure that this happens – we are continuing to put pressure on DHSC to deliver on their promise and have already had further discussions with them since we escalated the situation.
PSNC is a Committee of contractors, including elected Regional Representatives and three members who are elected by the independent (non-CCA) multiple pharmacy groups, including AIM Board Members. We value the input and involvement of all our independent multiple Committee Members in all PSNC decision-making.
At this very difficult time it is important that the sector comes together, speaking in a unified way to fight for the recognition and support that contractors need and deserve. PSNC will continue to do this, bringing all parts of the community pharmacy sector together to represent contractors as a whole.
We will continue to work collaboratively with all the national trade associations, with LPCs, and with contractors from across the sector as we seek more support for contractors in the short, medium and long-term. This will include via work to develop a new strategy and vision for community pharmacy, and to ramp up the sector’s influencing work.