Archives: Contractor Email

Dear Colleague
I write in relation to the increased spate of attacks on community pharmacy staff in recent weeks which culminated over the weekend in the stabbing of Mr Conor McAreavey on Saturday in his pharmacy on the Antrim Road, Belfast.
 
CPNI condemns without reservation all attacks on community pharmacy staff and I am sure you will echo my support for, and best wishes to, Conor and his team following Saturday’s horrendous incident, and to the team at Greencastle Pharmacy who were subject to a violent robbery attempt in February.
 
Unfortunately, the frequency of abuse and aggressive behaviour being directed at community pharmacy staff by a small number of individuals has increased over recent months and years.
 
To combat this, CPNI has continued to work with HSCB and DoH colleagues and with other stakeholders to enable contractors to introduce enhanced security measures in their pharmacies.  I will be continuing with this important and urgent work, to ensure that further measures can be put in place to reduce the likelihood of such incidents being directed at you and your teams.
 
In the interim, I would ask you to ensure that the security measures and procedures introduced in your pharmacies are followed so that the risk of harm to staff is reduced. Contractors are encouraged to check that security systems such as CCTV, security alarms and panic buttons are fully operational and that in what instances and how these should be used is understood by your staff.
 
I would also encourage pharmacy teams to liaise with local police and with their crime prevention officers, and to report any instances of abuse, aggression or attacks to the Department of Health using the following link HERE.
 
CPNI will continue to support contractors and your teams going forward, and should you need any additional information in relation to staff safety and pharmacy security please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
Please find correspondence HERE from Kathryn Turner, Pharmacy Lead, Health and Social Care Board.

SUMMARY

  • We understand that due to the pandemic it may not have been possible for many pharmacies to have completed the care home visit by the end of March 2022. Therefore, the time period for completion of the visit has been extended to the end of April 2022.
  • To better inform the service moving forward and to understand the current position in relation to the number of care home visits completed or scheduled, community pharmacists are invited to participate in a data collection survey for a period of one week, today Monday 7 March 2022 until Sunday 13 March 2022.

ACTION

  • Contractors are asked to review the correspondence.
  • From today Monday 7 March 2022 unitl Sunday 13 March 2022, community pharmacists are invited to capture the following data:
    • For all contracted care homes record the number of phone calls, regarding any care home resident, received from or made to:
      • GP Practice
      • Health Care Professional
      • Trust staff
      • Care Home staff
    • Activity in relation to sourcing a specific medicine for a care home resident.
    • Do not record data in relation to the dispensing or supply of medicines to care home residents e.g. collection or delivery of prescriptions.
  • Instructions for completion of the survey can be found HERE.
  • If you have any queries in relation to the completion of the survey please contact your local HSCB office.
  • Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further information.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
Please find correspondence HERE from Kathryn Turner, Pharmacy Lead, Health and Social Care Board. 

SUMMARY

  • We understand that due to the pandemic it may not have been possible for many pharmacies to have completed the care home visit by the end of March 2022. Therefore, the time period for completion of the visit has been extended to the end of April 2022.
  • To better inform the service moving forward and to understand the current position in relation to the number of care home visits completed or scheduled, community pharmacists are invited to participate in a data collection survey for a period of one week, Monday 7 March 2022 until Sunday 13 March 2022.

ACTION

  • Contractors are asked to review the correspondence.
  • From Monday 7 March 2022 unitl Sunday 13 March 2022, community pharmacists are invited to capture the following data:
    • For all contracted care homes record the number of phone calls, regarding any care home resident, received from or made to:
      • GP Practice
      • Health Care Professional
      • Trust staff
      • Care Home staff
    • Activity in relation to sourcing a specific medicine for a care home resident.
    • Do not record data in relation to the dispensing or supply of medicines to care home residents e.g. collection or delivery of prescriptions.
  • Instructions for completion of the survey can be found HERE.
  • If you have any queries in relation to the completion of the survey please contact your local HSCB office.
  • Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further information.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

BSO ALERTS 

CPNI ALERTS 

HSCB ALERTS 

Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s). Pharmacy team(s) can keep updated via CPNI’s Contractor Calendar or Contractor Emails

Or report medicine shortages, pricing and staffing issues via the CPNI’s Medicine Shortage Reporter or Situation Reporter

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF 
DR. GARETH C. GILVARY
Governance & Support Pharmacist
Dear Colleague
Please find correspondence HERE from Kathryn Turner, Pharmacy Lead, HSCB.

SUMMARY

  • Additional funding is available for community pharmacies in relation to dedicated COVID-19 vaccination clinics during February and March 2022. The following options are available:
    • Provide clinic(s) in current Pharmacy premises outside of normal commercial
      opening hours
    • Provide clinic(s) at an off-site location (non-pharmacy) premises at any time
  • Funding of £200 per eligible vaccination clinic is available.
  • The following eligibility criteria apply:
    • February clinics must have operated for a minimum of 2 hours
    • March clinics must operate for a minimum of 2 hours and have a minimum of 10 patients booked for vaccination. The HSCB will honour payment for those clinics where patients do not attend, and where vaccinations are subsequently administered to less than 10 patients.

ACTION

  • Contractors and pharmacists involved in the provision of this service are asked to review the correspondence.
  • If you wish to claim this funding, please complete the attached claim form and return to your local Integrated Care office.
  • Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further information.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
Please find correspondence HERE from Kathryn Turner, Pharmacy Lead, Health and Social Care Board.

SUMMARY

  • The Community Pharmacy Emergency Supply during a Pandemic Service commenced on Monday 6 April 2020.
  • Approximately 9,500 items are supplied each month, via the service, to patients in Northern Ireland.
  • As we move out of the current phase of the pandemic, the HSCB will be seeking to commission a routine Community Pharmacy Emergency Supply Service.
  • To better inform the transition to routine service, HSCB in conjunction with CPNI, are inviting community pharmacists to participate in a data collection survey for a period of one week. The collection form can be found HERE.
  • A newsletter supplement highlighting some of the learning identified has been developed and is available HERE.

ACTION

  • Contractors are asked to review the correspondence.
  • From Monday 28 February 2022 until Sunday 6 March 2022, community pharmacists are invited to capture  data for all patients who are requesting an emergency supply.
  • If you have any queries in relation to the completion of the survey please contact your local HSCB office.
  • Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further information.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive