In 2018, PSNC developed a set of proposals for the development of the NHS contractual framework, focused on community pharmacy’s role in caring for people with long-term conditions.

The service developments PSNC envisages would support both the implementation of the proposals set out in the Community Pharmacy Forward View and the Murray Review’s recommendation to modernise the MUR service. They are also aligned to the policies set out in the NHS England Five Year Forward View Next Steps document and the aims of NHS England’s Medicines Value Programme.

PSNC’s eventual aim is to revise the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) to include a Community Pharmacy Care Plan service which supports patients with long-term conditions to optimise their use of medicines and manage their conditions. The outline proposals for the service are based upon the Community Pharmacy Future II project undertaken in West Yorkshire.

Fully implementing such a service would be a significant change for many community pharmacy teams, so PSNC considered options for staged changes to the CPCF which would support the transition: the Universal Community Pharmacy Care Framework. This incorporates elements of the MUR service and NMS, and also clearly articulates the way in which community pharmacy services are helping to address key NHS targets, such as reducing waste and improving patient safety. The development of a new care-focussed package of services within the CPCF will also require changes to funding delivery, to ensure that it reflects the services provided by contractors.

The proposals in detail

PSNC’s proposals are intended to provide a possible mechanism to move towards a community pharmacy funding arrangement that fairly rewards community pharmacies for providing more patient care and support for people with long-term conditions.

The documents below set out the proposals in more detail.

Community Pharmacy: Developing Services for the Future
This briefing outlines PSNC’s proposals. Whilst it was created to explain PSNC’s proposals to external stakeholders, those working in community pharmacy may also find it a useful summary.

Introducing the Universal Community Pharmacy Care Framework
An infographic describing the Care Framework.

Community Pharmacy Care Plan: The Patient Journey
An infographic describing the support a patient could receive from their community pharmacy as part of the Care Plan.

PSNC Proposals for Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) Developments
This Powerpoint presentation sets out PSNC’s proposals for developing the CPCF, covering how they were developed, the changes they would bring to community pharmacy and how we are taking them forward. An editable version is available here for LPCs to use.

The development of the proposals

PSNC spent much of its January 2018 committee meeting giving detailed consideration to proposals for the future of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. Over the next two months these proposals were put to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England, the other national pharmacy bodies and LPCs. PSNC spent time reviewing and discussing the feedback that had been received in these meetings. The final proposals will should provide a starting point for discussions on the future of community pharmacy with DHSC and NHS England.

PSNC is interested to hear from those who work in community pharmacy. You can send us your feedback on these proposals by completing our survey:

Care Plan and Universal Care Framework Survey