To allow more community pharmacies to participate in the 2022 Pharmacy Advice Audit, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has extended the participation period by three weeks.
The new deadline stands at March 11 (Friday).
Considering an encouraging submission rate so far of 2,000 pharmacies, the negotiator is aiming to double this figure over the next few weeks to ensure that the audit results have greater impact.
The PSNC stated that greater participation of pharmacy teams will provide critical evidence for its use in funding discussions with government and the NHS, as well as helping build support for the sector through charities, politicians and the national press.
Thanking pharmacy teams who have already taken part in the audit, Mike Dent, PSNC director of Pharmacy Funding, said: “We do now need to hear from many more pharmacies to give our data as much power as we can.
“The results of previous audits have been incredibly valuable in negotiations and wider discussions, and this has never been more important as we push for government to fund pharmacies for the support they give to ‘walk-in’ patients."
He added that the response rates for the earlier two audits were phenomenal, and “we hope to hear from many more of you over this newly extended audit period.”
Cat Smith, Labour MP for Lancaster and Wyre