LPC Duties

Who are we?

The Local Pharmaceutical Committee is the local voice of Community Pharmacy contractors in Devon.

There are three Primary Care Trusts in Devon, Devon PCT, NHS Plymouth and Torbay Care Trust.  These organisations are responsible for the strategic commissioning of local health services and improving public health.  The LPC is the statutory body which has to be consulted with by the PCTs on all matters relating to the terms of service and contractual arrangements for independent pharmacy contractors and also in the negotiation of local enhanced services.  The LPC has the responsibility to represent all pharmacy contractors within its boundary in dealing with all pharmacy matters with any health and social care organisation, thus ensuring fairness and transparency when agreeing local pharmacy services.  

The LPC is constituted according to the model constitution set out by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and operates within a corporate governance and accountability framework which can be viewed on the LPC Documents section of the website.   Funding for the LPC is derived from a levy paid by all pharmacy contractors in Devon.  Both the constitution and the accountability framework, setting out the specific responsibilities of the committee and its financial arrangements, can be viewed in the LPC Documents section of this website.

Management of the Devon LPC takes place through the Secretariat Office.

What do we do?

The LPC is here to help and advise pharmacy contractors in all NHS matters and to improve pharmaceutical services to the local population of Devon. Its primary aim is to accurately reflect and put forward the professional views and aspirations of all pharmacists engaged in community pharmacy that provide NHS pharmaceutical services in Devon and to liaise and work with the commissioning organisations appropriately. 

In addition, the LPC is involved in negotiations for local enhanced services such as the provision of pharmaceutical advice to care homes, extended hours of opening, supply of emergency hormonal contraception, needle exchange, supervised methadone consumption, smoking cessation services and minor ailments managed under patient group directions.   The LPC Officers and members are also actively involved in supporting the implementation of the pharmacy contractual framework both with the PCTs and their contractors.  The LPC has developed a range of tools to support contractors with the clinical governance requirements of the contractual framework that can be accessed on On-Line Documents, and are actively involved in the provision of workshops and involvement in practice based commissioning.

How do we do this?

The Devon LPC was established on the 1st October 2006, following a merger of the former North and East Devon LPC and the South and West Devon LPC.  The LPC will have a strategic role and support local pharmacy development groups or sub committees of the LPC at a locality level.  Traditionally, LPC meetings have been held in the evenings with a small number of daytime meetings to provide some protected time for LPC members to develop their work programmes.

Whenever possible guests from the PCTs and other organisations are invited to LPC meetings to ensure the members are kept up to date with latest policy and local developments so they can best represent the profession. 

LPC meetings and discussions cover all community pharmacists and pharmacy issues, not just contractor business.  Recent priorities have included reviewing the service level agreements for harm reduction services in Plymouth and Torbay;  negotiating the service level agreement for EHC in Plymouth, extending the number of accredited pharmacists for EHC and identifying future training needs for those pharmacists working in the former North and East Devon area; negotiating for local service development to include smoking cesation services in East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon and Exeter; a complete review of the pharmaceutical advice to care homes scheme; the medicines compliance and assessment service in Torbay.  It is expected that individual members f the LPC take responsibility for specific areas of work in which they have an interest, and working groups will be established in NHS policy areas.  We have also been working on a business case for a COPD service based in community pharmacy and linking this in to practice based commissioning.  The LPC is also very proactive in responding to local and national consultations, in particular we have just  submitted a response to the Department of Health's review of the Control of Entry that can be viewed through LPC Documents. 

The Devon LPCs believe that community pharmacists have a significant role to play in meeting local healthcare needs. The Secretariat Officers and the Committee Members will actively pursue any issue that affects or is likely to impact on local pharmacy services. The work and agenda of the committee will always be directed to protect and enhance the interests of contractors and the customers and patients they serve.

Any community pharmacist contractor or employed pharmacist is welcome to attend an LPC meeting as an observer and should contact the Secretariat Office for further details.