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Hello colleagues. I am delighted to be able to welcome you to
this month’s edition of the Numark Membership magazine.

Recently, Numark members will have noticed the country specific settlements
being announced. Wales was first, with an agreed flat funding and, I hope,
the opportunity to revisit additional funding should the Doctors and Dentists
Remuneration Board establish a higher settlement level for those areas of primary
care delivery. It would be difficult for government colleagues to ignore a higher
settlement and I know Community Pharmacy Wales will revisit that and lobby for an
uplift for our Welsh members.
In England, following the general election, negotiations between Community
Pharmacy England and the respective health departments are in full swing. It will be
interesting to see what can be achieved with a new Westminster Government and
the manifesto commitments made.

As I write this the position in Scotland could deliver three different outcomes,
one where members are concerned about their cash flow due to the lower level of
funding that has been secured. This will require everyone to look at how efficiently
they can operate their pharmacies. Our suite of Numark propositions, that are
available to members, are designed to assist in doing so. Scenario two is an
increase in funding to the level that maybe wasn't expected and could give some
comfort that at least some parts of the network’s costs are being met.
This therefore means some other efficiencies within our pharmacy network will need
to be sought and Numark again can assist. Scenario three is where Community
Pharmacy Scotland and the Scottish Government announce a significant uplift to
funding, albeit six months into the financial year, demonstrating that the network
delivers services that a government wants to see being provided to improve health
outcomes and improve access for the population. Numark will of course support our
members in delivering extended services assisted by increased funding.
As well as the negotiations, I'd like to let you know that I've been working with
Rhys Martin, Head of Numark Proposition, to consider new propositions which we
believe the network would benefit from. Those are, a consideration of what our
training support could look like and technology deployment within the community
pharmacy network. Numark is looking at innovative ways of supporting you in those
areas. At this stage, I can't give you full details of what that may look like, I just
want to make you aware that we are actively looking to develop something in those
fields. Watch this space!

All the best,
Harry McQuillan

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