Community Pharmacy Business Continuity Service
CPNI in conjunction with HSCB and DoH colleagues, developed a number of business continuity measures following the onset of the pandemic in Spring 2020. As well as securing additional funding to support the necessary modifications to pharmacy premises and staffing pressures, a ‘Business Continuity Service’ was developed and aimed at helping pharmacies continue to provide essential services while keeping patients and staff members safe.
Measures included setting up secure HSCB email addresses for clear and effective communication with pharmacies, and establishing situation reports “Sit-Reps” on the key areas of staffing, workload and stock issues. The sit-reps served as a tool for pharmacies to alert the board and department to key pressures in the network. Sit-reps were initially daily and subsequently moved to weekly in July 2020. Correspondence from the HSCB in May 2021 indicated the standing down the sit-rep requirement in June 2021, and this remains under review.