Concerns among pharmacists in Northern Ireland about the state of the profession are continuing to swell, as Numark’s Mimi Lau, director of professional services and John D’Arcy, retail commercial director at Phoenix discovered on a recent trip to Belfast. The Numark Northern Ireland Pharmacy Advisory Board, which includes a number of Northern Ireland contractors, met to discuss some of the most threatening issues facing community pharmacy.

“There is a lot of dissatisfaction amongst our members that the new contract is yet to be agreed and although there’s been a lot of talking over the last three years, agreement about what it will contain has been extraordinarily slow,” Mimi commented. “The use of Category M - as in England - as a mechanism to take money out of the system but with no budget being redirected to services is unfair. Contractors are working just as hard for less money and this cannot continue.”

Heated discussions about generic tendering being proposed also made an appearance at the meeting. “It is clear that manufacturers and wholesalers are involved in discussions but average contractors – Numark pharmacists – feel completely in the dark and that they are not being consulted on something that will affect them considerably,” Mimi added. “Numark would like to engage with the PCC to see how we can help with the communication process and work with them in any way possible.”