"The announcement was made at a Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee dinner at the Q. E. Conference Centre, Westminster where dispensing doctors were represented by Dr John Chisholm, Dr Russell Walshaw and, of course (sic) Dr Malcolm Ward.

"Lord Hunt said "Disputes between pharmacy owners and dispensing doctors have been a long running source of conflict.

First of all, the DDA and chemists must not take matters for granted even at this stage. There’s many a slip between t’cup and t’lip - not least a general election.

We must assume that the official DDA Press release truly represents the facts of the matter.  If it is not, then the Release must surely demonstrate the slipshod mind of the Association Executive member (? Dr Ward) who wrote it.

So, let’s closely examine the wording, in particular Lord Hunt’s carefully chosen phrases. Of course, we still do not know the precise results of the negotiations since they have been conducted in the utmost secrecy. So much so that no information about them was ever divulged in the DDA Ltd magazine and I, as a BMA Council member was many times refused any information at all. Quite how, therefore, Dr Ward can say that "the membership of the Association have given enormous support" beggars belief. That must simply be an outright lie or wishful thinking.

If Lord Hunt has carefully constructed his sentence, and he is a politician who does just that, readers will quickly note that new dispensing doctors’ dispensaries will be prevented but that new pharmacies will be discouraged. There is an enormous chasm between the two intentions. The effect will be to kill future dispensing but to allow new pharmacies subject, of course, to the original Clothier "proper provision" clause.

Unless "pharmaceutical services" has been redefined in the regulations there will be just as many Clothier disputes and dispensing closures as before. It must be recalled that in the terms of the Regulations dispensing doctors do not provide "pharmaceutical services". To rub salt in the wound, there is no definition of "proper medical services" and when previously tested during my chairmanship of the DDA, the provision of a sphyg, a couch and a loo satisfied the regulations.

Furthermore, there is no comment about the Essential Small Pharmacy Allowance which makes small pharmacies viable, being removed. Indeed, the implication is that Lord Hunt is unaware of the effect of that on dispensing practices.

So, it rather seems as though the medical negotiators have succeeded in helping the chemists achieve their intention by banning future dispensing practices at no cost to pharmacies. In short, current dispensing practices will have been, as mentioned elsewhere on this site, ring-fenced for easy pickings by pharmacy.

None of the medical negotiating team who achieved this dismal outcome have outstanding negotiating skills. They were Dr John Chisholm (his failures in obtaining meaningful pay rises are legendary); Dr Russell Walshaw (who, some years ago, welcomed a grossly excessive increase to the dispensing doctors discount deduction scale) and Dr Malcolm Ward (who has no record to talk of at all). Whereas the vastly more experienced pharmacy team have been skillfully pushing for the complete elimination of dispensing practices for many years and are now one large step closer to this.

Small wonder the PSNC wined and dined the DDA and small wonder that dispensing doctors will quake in their boots when they are finally allowed to read the small print of the proposed regulations agreed by this sparkling team.

References:

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David Roberts