Simon Dukes warns of going public over lack of progress in funding talks

Lack of progress around funding negotiations for community pharmacies in England has created a "growing sense of deep frustration and increasing irritation", the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) chief Simon Duke has said.

"Despite our constant efforts, and more importantly the phenomenal work pharmacies have been doing all year, we are not making progress in our funding negotiations." he said in a blog post. "It really is a case that there are none so blind as those that will not see."

Duke said officials’ refusal to treat community pharmacy as the core part of the NHS has been "a regular feature" of negotiations," adding that the negotiator is "being forced to be increasingly public" about the talks.

"I have been involved in many negotiations over the years and I have always believed that the best discussions take place in private. It saddens me that PSNC is being forced to be increasingly public about the situation we find ourselves in," he said.

"We will continue to hold the NHS and government to account privately for their decisions and processes – but we will also now say more in public alongside the other pharmacy bodies if we don’t get positive outcomes soon."