Archives: Contractor Email

Dear Contractor

Northern Ireland’s Chief Pharmaceutical Officer issued correspondence yesterday advising that in response to a significant ongoing disruption to the supply of Estradot® 50mcg and 100mcg patches, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued two new Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) in order to help mitigate against the continued shortages and supply issues that are being experienced with these products.

SUMMARY

Contractors should note the following:

• SSP048 – for every Estradot® 50mcg patch originally prescribed, one Evorel® 50mcg patch must be supplied.
• SSP049 – for every Estradot® 100mcg patch originally prescribed, one Evorel® 100mcg patch must be supplied.
• The SSPs are available to view on the BSO website and all contractors should ensure that relevant staff, including locums, are aware of the detail of these SSPs.
• Further SSP guidance including a FAQ document is also available on the BSO website.

ACTION

• Contractors should note the contents of the letter and make all relevant members of the pharmacy team aware.

Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further advice.

Kind regards

Dear Contractor,

SPPG issued correspondence today, providing a number of updates in relation to the Pharmacy First service for Emergency Hormonal Contraception.

SUMMARY:

Contractors will note:

• There are 402 pharmacies offering the service at present.
• To date over 6,400 women and young people have benefited from the service.
• Women and young people may access the service by a number of referral pathways:
  • Self-referral
  • Referral by the pharmacy
  • Referral from GP practice or Out of Hours medical centres
  • Referral from Sexual Health Clinics
  • Referral from other services providing safe-guarding/counselling services such as the Rowan (further information is provided in the letter).
• Pharmacies providing the service are asked to invite service users to complete an anonymous survey to give feedback on their experience.  A link to the survey can be found here and a QR code is also provided.
• A consultation form and where appropriate, a Fraser competency form, should be completed and retained for each consultation.
• A monthly claim form should be submitted for payment.
• Community pharmacies who are not already providing the service may commence if they wish to do so by returning a signed copy of the contract to their SPPG office.

ACTION:

Contractors are asked to note:

• The content of the letter and share the information with relevant members of the pharmacy team.

Please do not hesitate to contact CPNI offices should you require any additional information.

Kind regards

Dear Contractor,

SPPG issued correspondence yesterday regarding the recovery of the Covid-19 special advance.

ACTION:

Contractors are asked to note:

• The content of the letter
• Recovery will not apply to the January, February and March 2023 payment runs
• Recovery will recommence with the April 2023 payment run (for March prescriptions) and will continue for a period of 13 months

Please do not hesitate to contact CPNI offices should you require any additional information.

Kind regards

Dear Colleague

The third update of concessionary prices were granted today for January 2023:

Drug	Pack Size	Concessionary Price
Amoxicillin 125mg/5ml oral suspension	100	£5.01
Brimonidine 0.2% eye drops	5	£4.60
Calcipotriol 0.005% / Betamethasone dipropionate 0.05% ointment	30	£12.53
Cefalexin 250mg tablets	28	£3.25
Clarithromycin 250mg/5ml oral suspension	70	£5.84
Febuxostat 80mg tablets	28	£4.26
Flucloxacillin 250mg/5ml oral solution	100	£5.05
Isotretinoin 20mg capsules	30	£15.11
Mometasone 0.1% ointment	30	£4.37
Omeprazole 20mg gastro-resistant capsules	28	£2.90
Oxycodone 5mg/5ml oral solution sugar free	250	£9.71
Valsartan 80mg capsules	28	£7.02
Venlafaxine 37.5mg tablets	56	£4.36

Concessionary prices will be paid against the usual code, no additional endorsements are needed.

Please continue to notify CPNI of any pricing issues you are experiencing via our new Medicine Shortage Reporter.

Concessionary prices are also published on the CPNI website.

Kind regards

Dear Contractor,

SPPG issued correspondence on Tuesday 24 January 2023 regarding updated shortages guidance.  The guidance is available on the BSO website and a copy is also available here.

ACTION:

Contractors are asked to note:

• The content of the shortages guidance and share it with the relevant pharmacy staff members
• Continue to report any shortages to CPNI using the CPNI Shortages Reporter

Please do not hesitate to contact CPNI offices should you require any additional information.

Kind regards

Dear Colleague

As you may be aware, SPPG issued correspondence on Monday 23 January to those pharmacies providing the Regional Stop Smoking Service.

SUMMARY

The letter includes important updates in relation to:

• The rolling forward of the “Stop Smoking” service contract
• Information on replacing Carbon Monoxide monitors used to provide the service

ACTION

Contractors are asked to note:

• The contents of the letter and bring it to the attention of relevant staff

For queries in relation to the service please contact your PHA local Tobacco coordinator.  Queries may also be directed to a member of the CPNI team.

Kind regards