NHS commissioning and funding

Community pharmacy bodies call for funding support towards impending national insurance hike

Organisations have written to the chancellor over concerns that the planned employer national insurance contribution increase will hinder their ability to offer clinical services and support.…

Welsh community pharmacies to receive 6% funding increase, government confirms

The government says that £9.9m funding increase is aimed to address “immediate pressures” and contribute towards realising its long-term reform plans.…

Approval of new NHS drugs results in population health ‘trade-offs’, study results suggest

Study authors concluded that the use of new drugs on the NHS resulted in an additional cost of more than £75bn between 2000 and 2020.…

Pharmacy contract negotiations to start in new year, says health secretary

Speaking at an evidence session held by the Health and Social Care Committee, Wes Streeting said his main focus was on “stabilising the system”.…

PJ view: There are still reasons to be optimistic about pharmacy in 2025, despite a challenging 2024 

A turbulent 2024 has left the pharmacy profession with many uncertainties, but there are still opportunities to come in 2025.…

Government plans for 2.8% pay uplift for hospital pharmacy staff

Unite the Union described the pay increase an “insult”, saying the NHS will not remedy its recruitment and retention crisis without tackling the issue of restorative pay.…

Manufacturer offers NHS £23m in response to investigation into misleading claims about rival treatment

Vifor Pharma has also agreed to write to healthcare professionals to “correct any potentially misleading communications regarding the safety of Monofer and Ferinject”.…

Pfizer and Flynn Pharma fined £69m for ‘excessive’ pricing of epilepsy drug

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has upheld the Competition and Markets Authority's 2016 decision that Pfizer and its distributor Flynn “were gouging the market” when the pricing of phenytoin sodium capsules resulted in costs to the NHS increasing from £2m in 2012 to around £50m in 2013.…

NICE may be ‘systematically undervaluing’ medicines for severe conditions, says ABPI

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry is urging the government and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to “show greater flexibility when assessing medicines for severe conditions”.…

Pharmacy owners vote to reduce services in protest against funding levels

In a ballot of National Pharmacy Association members, 98% of those representing pharmacies in England expressed a willingness to close outside the minimum hours required by their contract.…