Over recent weeks and months, CPNI has been lobbying elected representatives to outline the financial challenges being faced by our sector – and the implications for patients and pharmacy services.
We are aware of the extremely difficult financial challenges of managing payments to wholesale suppliers. We know that there are increasing occasions when medicines cannot be supplied because cash flow is so restricted that payment to wholesalers cannot be made. We understand the frustration and despondency this is causing in the sector. And we know how diligently community pharmacists are working to look after the needs of their local community patients and customers.
To support contractors and their teams, CPNI is running a campaign which will help to explain to patients why that due to the current financial pressures medicine supplies and pharmacy services cannot be guaranteed.
We want your patients to know that their local community pharmacy is doing its best and that this problem is affecting the whole community pharmacy sector in Northern Ireland.
In sharing this with patients, we are also seeking their support for our campaign. Pharmacies will have received campaign resource packs with information and materials which we hope will help you to create awareness and provide ways that patients and customers can give their support.
Changes we are calling for:
– Urgent stabilisation of community pharmacy funding in the short term and a re-set of community pharmacy funding.
– Putting in place a Northern Ireland specific Drug Tariff that reflects Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances that will assure sustainable service provision and medicine supply to patients going forward.
– Investment in the community pharmacy network to extend the range of community pharmacy services, so that we can play a transformative role in helping to keep patients closer to home, for longer, and reducing pressures on general practice, out-of-hours, and secondary care.