This autumn the NHS will discover how much money it will need to save in order to help clear Britain's ￡156bn deficit when details of the Government public spending review are published. Although the Government has promised that the health service, especially front-line posts, will be protected from cuts and that the NHS will see a year-on-year growth, the reality already appears different. Hospital and primary care trust pharmacists report a slowing down of recruitment or posts being frozen. Outsourcing of pharmacy services is being talked about as a way of saving on staff costs and there is also evidence of cutbacks starting to appear in pharmacists' training and development. One hospital chief pharmacist says: "Most people are having to prioritise the services they provide and look at what they can stop doing in order that they can still ensure patient safety."
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