Category: News

The Hon. Ian Paisley MP has thanked community pharmacy teams for their ongoing commitment to patients and local communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The MP paid a visit to Woodsides Pharmacy in Ballymena and spoke with pharmacist Joanne Morrow and her team about their experiences of Covid-19.

Mr Paisley heard how the community pharmacy network ensured crucial frontline services were kept open for patients during the very worst of the crisis. At its onset, local community pharmacy teams dealt with a huge surge in patient numbers as the pandemic took hold and quickly adapted pharmacy premises so that patients could continue to access vital services.

Speaking after the visit, Ian Paisley MP said:

“I was very pleased to be able to visit Joanne and her team at Woodsides today to thank them for their work during the pandemic.

“I have long believed in the value of our local community pharmacy network and the important role it plays as a core part of health and social care.

“Throughout the pandemic, community pharmacists have delivered for communities when they needed it and the open door policy during this time has mean the most vulnerable have been supported throughout the crisis.

“Visiting the Woodsides pharmacy team today reminded me of the fundamental role community pharmacy plays in public health. Accessible, diligent and supporting us when we are most vulnerable. The service provided is one we must endeavour to uplift and support.”

Local community pharmacist Joanne Morrow said:

“Working on the frontline during this pandemic has been one of the most challenging periods of my career to date. In March, when lockdown measures were put in place, community pharmacists were adamant that our commitment and duty of care to our patients was paramount and had to be maintained so that no one went without.

“We are proud of our team here at Woodsides for the dedication and care they have shown to the local community and it has been a pleasure to be able to talk to Ian about the work our team have carried out over the past few months.”

“The strength of our community pharmacy network is in our accessibility and the fact we are deeply rooted in local communities – we know our patients and they know us and trust us.

“Now, as we enter into the next phase in this pandemic, our role is to continue the work we started, supporting our communities and putting their health and wellbeing first.”

The Northern Ireland Executive has designed posters for retail in relation to mandatory face masks which have been adapted for community pharmacy.  The poster can be accessed at the following link in A4 and A3 format for download and print.  Three copies of each poster size will be supplied to each community pharmacy.   Posters can also be downloaded at the following link:

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-information-posters

From Tuesday 1st September the Minor Ailments Service is once again available at community pharmacies. The service supports patients to manage and treat a range of minor ailments under the professional healthcare guidance of a community pharmacist. The service is accessible without an appointment and a list conditions can be found at http://www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/2055.htm

If you have any query about this service, please contact your local HSCB Pharmacy Adviser or the CPNI Office.

A recently published survey by epilepsy charities Epilepsy Action, Epilepsy Society and Young Epilepsy found one in ten (11%) women who are currently taking the epilepsy medicine valproate are unaware of the possible risk of birth defects if taken in pregnancy. Furthermore, one in five (18%) don’t know that, when taken in pregnancy, the medicine could also cause learning and developmental delays in children.

Under the current regulations, valproate must no longer be used for women and girls who are able to become pregnant unless there is a Pregnancy Prevention Plan (PPP) in place. The PPP, mandatory at prescription, is an intervention from the MHRA designed to make sure patients are fully aware of the risks of valproate use in pregnancy and the need to avoid becoming pregnant.

The survey found that many women with epilepsy are still not receiving information from health professionals about the risks of valproate, leaving their potential future children at risk of harm.

” Valproate dispensing from the pharmacist

• Just under half of respondents (49%, 251/514) said they had had no discussion with their pharmacist about the risks associated with taking valproate during pregnancy. Only 14% (72/514) said they had this discussion every time they collected a prescription.
• 29% (150/514) of respondents stated that when their valproate was dispensed in a plain package, the box never had a sticker with the warning pictogram. Only 60% (306/514) of respondents stated that a prescription in a manufacturer’s packaging always included the warning pictogram.
• Over half (51%, 261/514) of respondents said they had never received the Patient Card from their pharmacist when receiving their prescription “

The full report can be accessed here

Reminder:

PHARMACISTS are asked to take the following IMPORTANT ACTIONS:

• Provide a Patient Card every time you dispense a valproate medicine to ALL female patients. Please also note that the outer boxes of valproate are being changed in order to include a removable patient card, to be detached and given to the female patient at the time of dispensation.
• When dispensing any valproate preparation to female children, adolescents, women of childbearing potential, or pregnant women check that their prescriber has discussed the risks of exposure in pregnancy with them and they are aware of these and subsequently they are taking effective contraception unless already pregnant.
• If the prescriber has not discussed the risks with the patient or the patient is not taking effective contraception, tell them to contact their GP or specialist for an urgent follow-up appointment.
• Advise the patients not to stop valproate medication and to immediately contact their GP or specialist in case of suspected pregnancy.
• Ask if they have received the Patient Guide and provide a copy if they have not received this or no longer have it in their possession.
• Dispense valproate in the original package with the outer warning and avoid repacking. In the situations where this cannot be avoided, always provide a copy of the package leaflet, patient card, and add a warning sticker to the outer box.

To order new or further PPP materials, please contact Sanofi medical information department on 0845 372 7101 or email UK-Medicalinformation@sanofi.com.

Community Pharmacy can play a leading role in the re-building of the Health and Social Care sector as COVID -19 surge plans reduce.

The Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI, Gerard Greene, has said that the community pharmacy network here can provide significant support in getting the health and social care system back on its feet after COVID -19 surge plans have been downgraded.

The call comes as the Health Minister Robin Swann has announced that he will be bringing forward a strategic framework for the re-establishment of the health service after it adapted to accommodate the system to prepare for hundreds of COVID -19 patients to be admitted to hospital.

The representative body has said that community pharmacists already play an enhanced role in transforming our health service and that now is the opportunity to invest further in the network as the current crisis gradually lifts.

Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI said:

“We are only too aware of the unrelenting pressures that the entire health service has been placed under during the darkest moments of the spread of COVID-19. We are not out of the woods as yet, but the Minister and Department have a difficult job on their hands in piecing back together elements of the health service that had to be dismantled to accommodate a worst case scenario.”

“Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, waiting times at the likes of GP surgeries were significant and the health service was under visible strain. During the recent weeks and months, it is apparent that the community pharmacy network stepped up massively and adapted almost overnight to keep the flow of vital medicines to patients managing conditions in addition to those presenting symptoms at pharmacies who were unable to access their GP.”

“We know that with the right resourcing and financial backing that pharmacists can do so much more to alleviate bottlenecks. The Minister has stated that there is a clear opportunity to make a number of improvements and we are keen to work with the Department to ensure that any investment in community pharmacy is one that works to help transform the health service. If we do not invest in transformative services, then we are putting public health at risk.”

Serious Shortage Protocol: Important information

You will have received recently a communication from the Department of Health NI in respect of a Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) relating to fluoxetine 10mg tablets which was issued by the Department of Health England.

DHNI has confirmed that, although the SSP issued states that it applies to Northern Ireland, this is not the case.  The SSP is not operational here but may be activated at a future date.  If a decision is taken to activate the SSP at a future date, further communication will issue from the DHNI. 

Action

Contractors should:

• Make their dispensing teams aware that this serious shortage protocol is not applicable to Northern Ireland; and
• Access the weblink below regularly to check the status of SSPs in Northern Ireland.  This website also contains useful guidance on how to dispense under an SSP.

www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/services/3063.htm

The CPNI will continue to support and inform contractors in the event that SSPs are rolled out here.

Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs): Issue of guidance.

In early 2019, following consultation, changes to the Human Medicines Regulations were made to allow the introduction of Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) in the event of a serious shortage of medicines. The necessary changes to the Northern Ireland Pharmaceutical Regulations came into force on 31 October 2019.

CPNI has previously notified contractors of the general principles behind SSPs: CPNI-Summary-Serious-Shortage-Protocols-SSPs (issued 27 June 2019)

Further detailed guidance has now been issued by the Department of Health:  www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/services/3063.htm

This guidance includes form SSP/F/01 which can be downloaded to facilitate the notification of prescribers where necessary. (Remember that notification of the prescriber is only required where a supply is made to a patient for a therapeutic equivalent or when notification of the prescriber is required under the terms of a specific SSP). It is not a requirement to use this form and other means of notifying prescribers may be used. Contractors should consider keeping a record of all such notifications. A copy of FAQs and a patient information leaflet will also be made available on the BSO website.

The intention is that an SSP will be issued only if a medicine has been judged by Ministers to be in serious short supply. The SSP will set out a clear protocol for community pharmacists to follow if they are unable to source that medicine for patients who have been prescribed it.

Contractors will be notified of the issuing of SSPs applicable to Northern Ireland in a number of ways:

• Business Service Organisation’s website http://www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/services/3063.htm – this dedicated section on the BSO website will contain details of all SSPs. For ease, new SSPs or amended existing SSPs will be flagged; • Contractors will be advised by the HSCB when a new SSP is published, or when an amendment is made to an existing SSP, and this will include a link to the BSO website; • Information on SSPs is expected to appear within Trade journals (for example, Chemist and Druggist or the Pharmaceutical Journal) and their associated websites; and • CPNI website – issue of, and updates to, SSPs operating in Northern Ireland will be highlighted on the CPNI website.

Action Contractors and pharmacists are advised to:

• Familiarise themselves with the guidance and to take any actions which they may need to prepare their dispensing teams; and

• Check with their professional indemnity insurance providers to ensure that cover applies to supplies made in accordance with SSPs.