As of 1st April 2019, a new NHS arrangement is in place to cover practice pharmacists as well as contracted GP staff in General Practice. The Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice is a state indemnity scheme covering NHS services provided by General Practice.
The cover will be provided automatically at no charge for all GPs and their team.
This has been welcomed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and believe this is a step further into the path of practice pharmacists in GP surgeries. Chair of the RPS in England Sandra Gidley said: “This investment is a vote of confidence by the NHS in the future role of pharmacists as part of the multidisciplinary team in primary care. It will also come as a welcome relief to those who have had to bear the burden of rising professional indemnity costs. It’s only right that as part of the primary care team, pharmacists should be covered by this insurance.
“As primary care services continue to evolve, it’s important the scheme is extended to cover pharmacists delivering services under the community pharmacy contract.”
The NPA have emphasised the scheme does not cover non-NHS work or provide legal representation for inquests and disciplinary investigation.