A pharmacy owner was left tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket thanks to errors in an IT system that is supposed to reimburse pharmacies for medical orders.

Elaine Aggleton, owner of three Lanarkshire pharmacies and another in Dundee, had no choice but to cut costs and put a halt to overtime after the Data Capture Validation and Pricing (DCVP) system left her in a £30,000 shortfall.

Introduced in the summer of 2023, the DCVP is a system that roughly estimates how much a pharmacy is due to be reimbursed for spending on medicines and other essential medical supplies.

According to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), errors with DCVP have left pharmacies across Scotland in financial crisis, with frequent overpayments, underpayments, and incorrect reimbursement estimations.

NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) apologised for issues following the introduction of the system and said overpayments have been addressed and it “continues to remedy any remaining payment issues promptly”.

Ms Aggleton said communication from NHS NSS in regard to reimbursements was poor.

She said: “There was very little communication from NSS regarding it, it would just come either on the day or the day before, and it’s just based on an estimate so it gives you very little time to plan if the estimate they’re giving you is less than what you thought you should be getting paid.

“It can have an impact on suppliers who are waiting to be paid, and if we can’t afford to pay suppliers we would have to pay money ourselves.

“Suppliers can put a stop on your account if you don’t pay them, but we ultimately always paid them.”

One of Ms Aggleton’s pharmacies had been unknowingly receiving small overpayments, which eventually stacked up to around £15,000.

Without telling them, NSS took back the overpayment, only for the IT system to err and take another £15,000 payment, meaning the pharmacy had £30,000 taken out in one day.

She said: “It was in December last year, and it had a massive impact on us.

“Basically, they had claimed the overpayment back twice, it was a cumulative overpayment, and so they took it all back, and then did so again.

“They did obviously give it back to us, but for two or three weeks, we were sitting here thinking we do not have this sort of cash.”

As a result, Ms Aggleton had to cut staff overtime in order to help support the running costs of her pharmacies and had to scrimp back on certain stock and other supplies.

The issue was addressed in February by an IT team who rectified the problem in the pharmacies.

However, Ms Aggleton added: “There are still some ongoing issues with the system, but I think Community Pharmacy Scotland is working with an auditor to make sure the payments are actually accurate.”

Addressing the NPA’s concerns over the payment system, Martin Morrison, associate director at NHS NSS, said: “We acknowledge the challenges faced by pharmacy contractors since July 2023 during the introduction of a new national IT system for over 1,200 community pharmacies in Scotland.

"We have been transparent about these issues and have worked closely with Community Pharmacy Scotland throughout.

“The new system, replacing a 20-year-old predecessor, supports electronic claims and future payments.

"We recognise and apologise for the impact of these issues and thank everyone for their patience as we resolved them.

“In July 2023, we implemented an interim payment solution using estimates based on recent claiming activity, ensuring no community pharmacy was left short due to the use of estimated payments.

"As of February 2024, payments are now based on actual dispensed items.

"Overpayments have been addressed, with a reconciliation completed and independently audited.

“We continue to remedy any remaining payment issues promptly.

"NHS National Services Scotland remains committed to working closely with community pharmacies, NHS boards, Community Pharmacy Scotland and other stakeholders to ensure accurate payments and clear communications are provided.”

A Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) spokesperson said: “CPS continues to work closely with NSS colleagues to resolve these issues.

“CPS is advocating for a more robust, more transparent, and quicker payment system going forward.

“As a sector that delivers crucial medicines supply and NHS services to the public, it is imperative that these businesses stay open and operational to provide care where it is needed, in the community.”