The 5 Year NHS Long Term Plan

In January 2019, NHS England published the NHS Long Term Plan, setting out its priorities for healthcare over the next ten years and showing how the NHS funding settlement will be used. The plan was unveiled by NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens and Prime Minister Theresa May, who said it was about “reshaping the NHS around the needs of patients”.The publication of the plan follows the Prime Minister’s announcement of a £20 billion a year NHS funding increase in June 2018. This figure is equivalent to a 3.4% rise to NHS England’s budget for frontline services.

Announcement summary:

The arrangements for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) in 2020/21 have been agreed between PSNC, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), in line with the five-year CPCF deal.

As set out in the deal, overall funding for community pharmacy will be set at £2.592bn for the year.

There will be an increase in funding for Transitional Payments from April (although these payments will decrease as new services roll out) and the Pharmacy Access Scheme (PhAS) will continue for another year in its current format.

Within the funding envelope a number of new services will be rolled out including an extension of referrals to the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS), a new Essential service – the Discharge Medicines Service, and a Hepatitis C testing service. The roll-out of these services is in line with the timetable and agreements made in July 2019.

PSNC, NHSE&I and DHSC have written jointly to contractors today setting out information on the CPCF for 2020/21. The letter sets out as much information as we have at this point in time; remaining details will be announced as soon as possible once Drug Tariff wording has been agreed between the three organisations and when ongoing negotiations on the new services have concluded.

Read the joint letter to contractors on the CPCF for 2020/21

Read the five-year deal document

In line with the five-year CPCF deal, agreements and changes to the CPCF in 2020/21 include:

Increased funding for Transitional Payments to contractors from April 2020 – these payments will reduce throughout the year as the agreed new services come into the CPCF;
A renewed Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) with a single review point in February 2021 – an aspirational payment will once again be available;
A new banded payment structure for the PQS to recognise the increased workload involved to meet the requirements for pharmacies seeing larger numbers of patients;
Exploratory discussions on the introduction of NHS travel vaccinations from pharmacies (this is subject to negotiation); and
The introduction of a number of new requirements under the Terms of Service.

Alongside this, PSNC will work with NHSE&I and DHSC to progress changes that will help contractors to release capacity and make the transition to the new services. The Government is enabling hub and spoke dispensing for all contractors through the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill which has now been published in draft form, and PSNC will be looking to strengthen protections for pharmacies wishing to consolidate and to explore options such as original pack dispensing and facilitating generic substitution of medicines.

Pharmacy Integration Fund monies will be used to begin pilots of pharmacy blood pressure testing, point of care testing and referrals from hospitals to a pharmacy smoking cessation service during 2020/21. And we will continue ongoing work to improve reimbursement for contractors.

PSNC has also begun work to prepare for the annual CPCF review process. This review process was agreed as part of the five-year CPCF deal and will be our opportunity to demonstrate the costs and capacity challenges that pharmacy is facing to make the case for further investment in the sector.

PSNC has published the following briefing which summarises the aspects of the Plan which are most relevant to LPCs and community pharmacy:

PSNC Briefing 002/19: A summary of the NHS Long Term Plan (January 2019)

PSNC PowerPoint presentation summary (February 2019)

At the end of January 2019, NHS England published a five-year framework for GP services agreed with the British Medical Association (BMA) General Practitioners Committee (GPC) in England and supported by Government. It implements commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan for changes to the GP contract and sets the direction for primary care for the next five years. Further information on the framework can be found in the following PSNC Briefing:

PSNC Briefing 008/19: A five-year framework for GP contract reform to implement the NHS Long Term Plan (February 2019)

Following the publication of the Plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) committed to publishing an implementation framework, setting out further detail on how it would be delivered. This implementation framework has now been published, containing guidance on the approach Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) and Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are asked to take to create their strategic plans to deliver the Long Term Plan.

PSNC Briefing 024/19: NHS Long Term Plan Implementation Framework

For more information, go directly to the PSNC page HERE