Please note that registration for these events has now closed.

The community pharmacy Review Steering Group (RSG) is continuing to take forward work following the  ‘Independent Review of Community Pharmacy Contractor Representation and Support: Providing best value for contractors’ and is today pleased to announce a series of upcoming stakeholder engagement events.

The events will take place as follows:

LPC engagement event: Monday 24^th May, 7.30 – 8.45pm

Contractor Forum engagement event: Tuesday 25^th May, 7.30- 8.45pm

Presentation of programme plan to the sector: Monday 14^th June, 7.30 – 8.45pm

In mid-March, The Berkeley Partnership, led by Jennifer Johnston, was appointed by the RSG as programme management advisers to refine the scope of the programme, create the programme plan and develop the stakeholder engagement approach.

Since then, the RSG has been working with The Berkeley Partnership to agree a set of overarching principles to govern the design and implementation of the upcoming change programme. The work has included development of a proposed high-level roadmap of activity to identify the order in which things need to happen for the sector to successfully embed the change.

This is a complex programme and there has been a huge amount of work taking place in the background over the past two months to further refine the project scope, and develop the draft programme plan, approach, key milestones and stakeholder engagement plan.  

Now that the RSG has created a draft set of principles and a draft roadmap, it wants to seek the views of LPCs and the Contractor Forum, as well as engaging with the trade bodies. At the engagement events at the end of this month, LPCs and members of the Contractor Forum will receive an update from the RSG on:

• The key principles for how the programme will be run and how decisions will be governed
• The approach as to how the RSG will engage with key stakeholder groups to seek input and feedback
• The proposed high-level plan and timeline of activities through to 2022
• Expectations of you as a key stakeholder – when you should expect to hear from us and when we will be seeking your input
• Expectations of the RSG

A slide deck will be shared in advance of the meeting so that attendees can come to the meeting with feedback and questions to be discussed during breakout sessions. This feedback will be used to produce the final programme design principles and updated roadmap which will be presented at a webinar on Monday 14th June.

Invitations to the first two events will be sent out shortly, with details of the June event to be shared on the RSG website later this month. The June event will be a wider meeting for all contractors, LPCs, trade bodies, stakeholders and the pharmacy press where the final programme principles and updated roadmap, incorporating views from all trade bodies, LPCs and the Contractor Forum, will be presented.

For further information on the work of the RSG and the Wright Review please click here.

LPCs and Members of the Contractor Forum have received invitations to register for the May events. A registration link for the June event will be shared later this month.

If you are a contractor and wish to join the online Contractor Forum to feedback on the programme principles and activity roadmap as well as future proposals and ideas, please email review@pharmacy-review.org

Background Information

The Pharmacy Review Steering Group (RSG) was set up following discussions between PSNC and the LPCs about how to take forward the findings of the independent review by Professor David Wright ‘Independent Review of Community Pharmacy Contractor Representation and Support: Providing best value for contractors’. The Group’s role is to steer and commission a programme of work following that review. The Group will develop proposals to put to contractors, ensuring that those proposals take into account feasibility of delivery, cost, benefits to contractors and timescales. RSG members were appointed by AIM, CCA and independent representatives in November 2020 and met for the first time in December 2020.

Agendas and Minutes from RSG meetings are available here  

Since its formation, the group has adopted terms of reference; launched the RSG website; held a programme scoping workshop; agreed an expenses policy and other matters in relation to governance/ways of working; held an engagement event in March for LPCs and contractors and appointed programme management advisors to work on the change programme plan, its implementation and a high level timeline.