In a bid to raise awareness about the breadth, variety and indeed complexity of services offered throughout community pharmacies in Northern Ireland, pharmacy contractors Lee Dearn and James McKay joined David McCrea in Dundela Pharmacy to welcome the Health Minister.

"I am very glad that we had the opportunity to meet with the Health Minister," David told PiF,"however, the Minister was perhaps reticent in offering any commitment to tackling our concerns. We invited him around the dispensary area where he noted more labour-intensive tasks such as compiling monitored dosage systems and blister packs." This presented a key opportunity for the pharmacists to draw the Ministerís attentions to how a straightforward and highly valued service can become a significant undertaking.

"We wanted to demonstrate the work involved and to reiterate that the demand for this service is coming from various parts of the health service, including social care, GPs, the Board and so forth, but the remuneration is not enough," David added. "It can involve up to ten times the amount of work which a normal prescription would command and it could be that the Department are under the impression that pharmacies are driving this service for financial reasons or that it is directly through patient demand. The wider health service objective however is to develop care packages for patients which specifically involve MDS, despite pharmacies being inappropriately remunerated for this. We are not contracted to do this work. However, we are of course acting in the patientís best interests by completing it and if we didn't, the onus would undoubtedly fall to secondary care. This of course means greater expense and a relative increase in their workload. MDS provided through a community pharmacy helps vulnerable patients to live more independently and this is a clear value."

It wasn't long before discussions turned to the controversial minor ailments scheme. Emphasising that the service had proven to not only be popular but also reap benefits for everyone involved, the pharmacists highlighted its value. "The issue of the cutback to the minor ailments service was raised with the Minister and the opportunity was taken to re-affirm the need for a comprehensive minor ailments service to be re-instated," David said. "The public and the medical profession have endorsed the service and it is noteworthy that at this time when the prevalence of flu-like symptoms are extremely high in the community that community pharmacy could have been playing an important NHS role in managing patients in their pharmacies and supporting GP colleagues in managing patient needs.

"It seems unfair and illogical to penalise all involved by significantly cutting back on a service which benefits pharmacies, patients, GPs and the health service. I then asked him for an assurance that the work we do is valued by his Department and that he would strive during negotiations to ensure that we are adequately remunerated for our services. He agreed to this and said he had pledged to do so throughout."

Lee Dearn also found the meeting helpful. "The Minister demonstrated a reasonable understanding of the issues facing pharmacy contractors but itís clear that lobbying those in politics and policy developers is something we all should make an effort to maintain," Lee explained. "I certainly think it was a very worthwhile activity and we all appreciate the chance to engage with the Minister, as well as to hear that he believes the profession is doing a good job of serving their communities to protect their health and social wellbeing. Community pharmacies are often to often home to very busy dispensaries, experience high volumes of workload pressures and to operate successfully need to have teams of well trained and committed staff members to carry out their daily responsibilities."

James McKay added: "I feel it is of great value to help develop the understanding our political representatives have of the pressures facing community pharmacies. We are often applauded for the standard of care we offer patients visiting our pharmacies. I hope following this visit that the Minister will now have witnessed first hand that the role of the community pharmacist often exceeds beyond our obligations and in doing so we provide vital support to the health service."        

Following the visit the Health Minister publicly applauded the profession for the role they play in providing an "invaluable service" to their local communities. "Community pharmacists make a significant contribution to the delivery of our services," he said. "The local pharmacist plays a key role in primary care in the community, providing an open door for patients allowing them access to a healthcare professional without the need for an appointment.

"In addition to the dispensing of prescriptions and the provision of advice to patients, a community pharmacy can provide a range of quality services such as the treatment of certain minor ailments, advice on medicines management and help with smoking cessation."

The Minister also commented on the standard of professional healthcare advice offered in pharmacies. "I am also impressed by the extent of information that patients receive when purchasing over-the-counter medicines. That is a crucial aspect of responsible self-care and evidence of the value-added services of pharmacists."

Meanwhile, despite a characteristically animated festive period for Northern Ireland pharmacy, the news that the pre-registration tuition funding is likely to face a significant reduction in summer 2011, with the possibility of no grant being provided to cover the training of students who had not agreed their placements before December 23, was not lost amid the spirit of goodwill. The Department wrote to pharmacies with correspondence dated December 23, 2010 advising them of the likelihood that one of the cornerstones of the professionís future could be slashed back, just when it only seems like yesterday that the Pharmaceutical Contractorsí Committee had successfully negotiated for the funding to reflect the costs associated with providing pre-registration training in community pharmacies as well as bringing parity with the funding provided in other parts of the UK.

"This is an extremely disappointing development for community pharmacies intending to provide pre-registration training placement positions from summer 2011 and undergraduate pharmacy students who now face uncertainty. PCC are dismayed again at yet another unilateral decision taken by DHSSPS that will affect community pharmacy," PCC chief executive Gerard Greene told PiF. "At no stage has the Department discussed this matter with PCC; the letter was issued over the Christmas and New Year holiday period directly to community pharmacies the outlining proposed changes to the pre-registration funding arrangements. PCC will be taking the matter up directly with both HSCB and DHSSPS."