NHS Pandemic Delivery Service for those self-isolating has been extended
The Community Pharmacy Home Delivery Service will be commissioned from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 for anyone living in England who has been notified by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate.
Community pharmacies, excluding distance selling pharmacies, can use this service to deliver prescription medicines and appliances to individuals during their ten day self-isolation period who provide their NHS Test and Trace account ID reference when requesting for the service; if alternative arrangements cannot be made.
Pharmacy contractors can claim payment for the service under the Community Pharmacy Home Delivery Service on the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal. Claims must be made by the fifth of the month after the service was provided. Claims made after this time will not be accepted.
For further information go to bit.ly/3iJheRg
GPhC revalidation reminder
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians due to submit their revalidation records from 1 January 2021 to 30 November 2021 only need to submit a reflective account along with the required declarations and pay the applicable fee to renew their registration. The GPhC has also announced that changes to revalidation requirements have been extended for registered pharmacy professionals due to submit their revalidation records from December 2021 to February 2022.
Changes to NMS
NHSE&I have published an updated NMS Service Specification. Summary of these changes include:
- Additional eligible conditions: a full list of medicines suitable for the NMS can be found on the National Health Service Business Service Authority (NHSBSA) website
- Eligible patients: the service has been expanded to support parents/guardians/carers of patients who could benefit from the service but who are unable to provide informed consent
- Number of NMS: the cap on the number of NMS that can be provided by a pharmacy contractors has been increased from 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent of monthly prescription volume and additional bandings have been included
- Remote consultations: contractors can provide the service remotely or in the patient’s home where necessary.
- Catch-up NMS introduced: pharmacy contractors can offer the NMS to patients who were prescribed a new, eligible medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic (1 April 2020 to 31 August 2021) but did not receive the NMS at that time. This can be offered between 1 September 2021 and 31 March 2022.
Updated and new resources to support our members in providing the NMS will be available soon here www.npa.co.uk/information-and-guidance
Kickstart Scheme - resources to support your recruitment
If you were approved for a kickstart placement and are beginning to see referrals coming through from the job centre for your vacancy, do remember that there are plenty of resources to support you on the NPA website. From the main landing page, you can access a poster for your window, interview guidance, FAQs, Employer hiring process guide, a pre-recorded guidance webinar and more.
Learn more by going to www.npa.co.uk/kickstart-scheme
Change to Community Pharmacy COVID Vaccination Service (CPVS) in Northern Ireland to include booster vaccine
Community pharmacies can now offer COVID19 Booster vaccines to eligible patient cohorts, which will initially include frontline health and social care workers and secondly, those aged 50-65. The booster dose must be administered at an interval of no earlier than 6 months following completion of the primary vaccine course (two doses). Eligible individuals should be offered a 0.25ml dose (50µg) of the Moderna vaccine. If this is contraindicated they should be referred to their GP for an alternative. Community pharmacies will continue to offer the primary vaccine service (first and second doses) to eligible unvaccinated patients alongside this booster programme.
The NPA has updated its COVID-CPVS SOP to reflect these changes - V4 October 2021. See here.
Community Pharmacy NHS Scotland Post Registration Foundation Programme Detail and Funding
A training grant of £1000 per month for two years will be paid to pharmacy contractors in Scotland for supporting an employee newly qualified pharmacist with the NES Post- registration Foundation Programme.
The Programme which has 130 places each year is expected to be completed in two and a half years and includes independent prescribing
NHS Circular: PCA (P)(2021) 15 details the training grant terms and conditions as a framework for contractors.
Contractors are required to provide an Educational Supervisor and facilitate time for attendance at training events and for portfolio development. The circular includes an agreement form and also details what is required of the contractor if the post-registration pharmacist does not complete the programme. For more information read the circular PCA (P)(2021)15 at www.cps.scot or visit NES pages here.