Pharmacy Voice responds to Open Public Services consultation

Date: 04 10 2011

Pharmacy Voice is encouraging the government to carefully consider the public’s perception of public and private services when opening up NHS services to any qualified provider.

In their consultation response to the Open Public Services White Paper, Pharmacy Voice makes reference to a Pharmacy Voice survey conducted earlier this year which showed:

• Nine in 10 (88%) of people regard GP practices as public bodies. Only one‐third (32%) regard their local pharmacy in the same way, despite the fact that the vast majority of a pharmacy’s income is derived from the provision of NHS services. Like GP practices, pharmacies are independent contractors to the NHS.
• Asked to attribute certain characteristics to the public or private sector, the majority said that the public sector is “caring”, “reliable” and “accountable”. The majority also said the private sector is “entrepreneurial”, “risk‐taking”, “responsive”, “corporate”, “professional” and “money‐focused”.

Rob Darracott, Chief Executive of Pharmacy Voice said:

“As our survey shows, it’s not straightforward to demarcate the boundaries between public and private provision. However, assumptions people make can influence their perception of the values and service offerings of providers. In certain circumstances this could result in a commissioner deciding not to invest in a pharmacy scheme because of a confused view of pharmacy being outside the ‘NHS family’.