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Ninety-six per cent of contractors responding to a Community Pharmacy England survey have considered using new contractual flexibilities to “rearrange” their core opening hours.

Presenting contractor polling data in notes from its June 25-26 committee meeting in Liverpool, CPE said the vast majority of respondents are looking at taking advantage of amendments to the Pharmaceutical and Local Services regulations (PLPS) to secure greater flexibility around the times they are open to patients. 

According to CPE, the amendments – which form part of the new contractual settlement and came into force on June 23 – “give pharmacy owners more scope to apply to change their opening hours to dates and times that better meet the needs of their patients and likely users of the pharmacy”. 

Among other changes, pharmacies may now present “evidence of the economic viability of their current opening hours” and in some cases will be allowed to close at quiet times.

The same number of core hours will need to be adhered to and applications to change hours will still need to be made to the local integrated care board (ICB), which will be required to consider any economic evidence provided alongside evidence of patient demand for the pharmacy’s services during the proposed new opening hours. 

CPE has indicated that some patients may need to travel further to access pharmacy services at quiet times, out-of-hours or on bank holidays. 

Last summer, the National Pharmacy Association found that around two-thirds of pharmacies in England had been forced to reduce opening hours due to extreme funding pressures. 

Pharmacy owners sceptical about Government plans

The CPE survey also found that 80 per cent of contractors are “positive or very positive” about the addition of emergency contraception provision to the commissioned Pharmacy Contraception Service. 

And “most” contractors are “planning to use the new skill mix flexibilities for services,” CPE added. 

Financial pressures loomed large in the polling data, with a “majority” of respondents declaring they are “unsure about the Government’s commitment” to agreeing a “sustainable funding and operational model” with the sector.

Contractors viewed preventative healthcare services and greater alignment of the contract with other primary care provider contracts as key priorities for the sector in the forthcoming NHS 10-Year Health Plan – “but shifting funding [from secondary to primary care] came out as the key priority,” said CPE. 

Commenting after the June meeting, CPE chief Janet Morrison said: “We have been using specialists who speak Government’s language to explore the sector’s challenges in-depth and recommend ways forward on critical issues such as funding models, margin and medicines supply.

“Our most pressing tasks following the meeting will be responding to the greatly anticipated NHS 10-Year Plan and exploring priorities for next CPCF negotiations, which will be augmented by our sector workshops over the summer. Those events will be crucial for shaping the messages we take to policymakers.”