The Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has expressed dissatisfaction over NHS England's rejection of its claim for compensation for pharmacy owners for the time they spent managing ineligible patients at the start of the winter 2025 COVID-19 vaccination season.
The changes in the eligibility criteria of patients for COVID-19 vaccination this winter had led to chaos at many pharmacies in early October.
While last year the jabs were provided for free to anyone 65 years old and over and those with chronic or long-term conditions, this year the eligible age bracket was raised to 75.
In response to CPE's compensation representation, NHS England said that further funding was not available and cited the considerable work they had done to improve communications.
Terming the NHS response as "very disappointing", the CPE's Service Development Subcommittee (SDS) said it will highlight this and all other pressures affecting pharmacies in the upcoming CPCF negotiations.
"We have asked NHS England to review the design of the national booking service so that it will help screen out patients who are not eligible for the vaccination they are seeking to book," the committee added.
It pointed out that when it comes to vaccines, community pharmacies are one of the strongest performers, particularly reaching out to deprived communities, but the government and the NHS have so far failed to provide them an economically sustainable service.
