Archives: Contractor Email

This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams, including details of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BSO ALERTS

  • Weekly Drug Alerts are available here.
  • Weekly Shortages Information is available here.
  • Serious Shortage Protocols are available here.

CPNI ALERTS

DOH(NI) ALERTS

Pharmacy team(s) can keep updated via CPNI’s Contractor Calendar and Contractor Emails.
Or report medicine shortages, pricing and staffing issues via the CPNI’s Medicine Shortage Reporter and Situation Reporter.
Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF 
DR. GARETH C. GILVARY
Governance & Support Pharmacist

Dear Contractor

You can take some simple steps to protect your business against online security threats. Having good cyber security measures in place will help protect your cash flow, your customer data and your reputation.

A full range of guidance and support can be found on the National Cyber Security Centre website. Some of the key pieces of advice are outlined below.

Cyber Aware offers simple advice to help small businesses stay safe online.

Cyber Action Plan offers sole traders and small businesses a simple, personalised ‘to do’ list to help protect your business.

The Small Business Guide shows how to improve cyber security within your organisation quickly, easily and at low cost.

Free Online Training – Top Tips for Staff This online learning module helps you and your staff understand why cyber security is important and shows how to take practical steps to protect against fraud and cyber crime. It’s totally free, easy-to-use and takes less than 30 minutes to complete.

Small Business Guide to Response and Recovery helps small to medium sized organisations prepare their response to, and plan their recovery from, a cyber incident.

Cyber Essentials shows you how to put technical measures in place to protect your business against the most common internet threats.

ACTION

Contractors are advised to:

  • Note the guidance available above and
  • To continue to review and improve their cyber security.

Don’t delay – take action to protect your business now.  Further information can be accessed via the New Cyber Protect webpage HERE.

Kind regards – Mike

SENT ON BEHALF OF
PROF MIKE MAWHINNEY
Head of Regulatory Affairs

This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams, including details of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BSO ALERTS

CPNI ALERTS

DOH(NI) ALERTS

Pharmacy team(s) can keep updated via CPNI’s Contractor Calendar and Contractor Emails.
Or report medicine shortages, pricing and staffing issues via the CPNI’s Medicine Shortage Reporter and Situation Reporter.
Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF 
DR. GARETH C. GILVARY
Governance & Support Pharmacist

Dear Contractor

There are a number of Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) currently active in Northern Ireland, all of which relate to phenoxymethylpenicillin, various strengths and formulations. 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 (currently active until 31 January 2023). Further SSP guidance including a FAQ document is also available on the BSO website.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has produced a one page illustration HERE of the SSP supply options for antibiotics. This may be subject to updates and teams are advised to refer to the online resource for the most recent version.

Since SSPs were first introduced in Northern Ireland contractors have received a monthly SSP payment. This is stated in the “Adjustments” section of the monthly BSO payment report.

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

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

Dear Contractor

CPNI wishes to bring to your attention the recently updated criteria and application forms for the NICPLD Independent Prescribing course, which are available here on the NICPLD website.  Contractors will be aware that planned reforms to the initial education and training of pharmacy students in Northern Ireland will mean that all pharmacists successfully joining the register from 2026 onwards will be annotated as Independent Prescribers.  Those pharmacists already on the register or joining the register prior to 2026 may obtain IP status and annotation by successfully completing a recognised IP training course such as that provided by NICPLD.

CPNI is aware that the numbers of community pharmacists obtaining places on IP courses in Northern Ireland in previous years has been significantly lower than those from the Hospital and General Practice sectors.  Recent changes to the application criteria are hoped to improve access for community pharmacists and as such contractors and their teams may find the updated application information to be of interest.  Applications for those trainees hoping to commence the course in August/September 2023 will be accepted by email to nicpld-prescribing@qub.ac.uk from Monday 16 January 2023 with a closing date of Monday 6 March 2023.

SUMMARY

Information on the 2023/24 NICPLD Independent Prescribing course includes:

  • This course (Post Graduate Certificate level) is divided into four modules and runs over an eight-month period.
  • It includes 400 hours of learning time commitment plus 90 hours learning in practice.
  • The pharmacist may complete their learning in practice at any point during the eight-month period.
  • There will be approximately 8 compulsory workshop/assessment days which are likely to be conducted via zoom.  Approximate dates are available on pages 7-8 of the trainee information booklet.

Changes to eligibility for the NICPLD Independent Prescribing course include:

  • Prior to 2022, to be eligible for acceptance onto the course, pharmacists must have been practising for at least two years post registration and be able to produce evidence of clinical and therapeutic experience in their intended prescribing area.
  • However, from Cohort 17 (starts Aug/Sept 2023), applicants no longer need to adhere to these criteria. 
  • Previously the Designated Prescriber Practitioner (DPP) was required to be a medical Doctor.  The DPP can now be a non-medical prescriber.

As such, the criteria for applicants for the 2023 intake are:

  1. Current registration with GPhC/PSNI and be in good standing with them, or any other healthcare regulator with which they are registered
  2. Must have relevant patient-orientated experience in a UK (not ROI/elsewhere) pharmacy setting and be able to recognise, understand and articulate the skills and attributes required by a prescriber to act as the foundation of their prescribing practice whilst training
  3. Must identify an area of clinical or therapeutic practice on which to base their learning, for the purposes of developing their independent prescribing practice
  4. A Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) who has agreed to supervise their learning in practice. This named practitioner must be registered with and be in good standing with their healthcare professional body in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, have legal Independent Prescribing rights and have:
    • Active prescribing competence in the areas in which they will be supervising;
    • Appropriate patient-facing clinical and diagnostic skills;
    • Supported or supervised other healthcare professionals, and
    • The ability to assess patient-facing clinical and diagnostic skills.

ACTION

Contractors are advised to:

Please contact a member of the CPNI team should you have any queries.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams, including details of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BSO ALERTS

CPNI ALERTS

DOH(NI) ALERTS

Pharmacy team(s) can keep updated via CPNI’s Contractor Calendar and Contractor Emails.
Or report medicine shortages, pricing and staffing issues via the CPNI’s Medicine Shortage Reporter and Situation Reporter.
Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF 
DR. GARETH C. GILVARY
Governance & Support Pharmacist