2024-08-06 10:43:27
In England, the market entry regulations (the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013 say that an application for an NHS contract must be refused if someone is already providing NHS pharmaceutical services at the same location or adjacent premises and NHS England considers it is reasonable to t it is reasonable to treat the services that the applicant proposes to provide as part of the same service as the existing services. This provision (regulation 31) was originally intended to prevent two NHS pharmacy contracts at the same location (which would enable some fees to be claimed twice. Regulation 31 has proved troublesome, and NHS Resolution has just published guidance https://resolution.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NHS-Resolution-Regulation-31-Guidance-Note-August-2024.pdf which summaries the decisions it has made on appeals from NHS England in recent years.