Archives: Contractor Email

Dear Colleague

I write to provide you with a brief update that, despite a concerted effort by CPNI to reach a workable way forward in relation to the Contractor MDS-Adherence action, resolution has not been achieved before the Christmas & New Year holiday period. Despite the Health Minister, Mr Swann MLA asking DoH(NI) and HSCB officials to intensify discussions last week and negotiations with CPNI, the latest HSCB indicative funding outline for Adherence/MDS services does not provide the assurances that CPNI Board and Contractors require at this stage. CPNI remains committed to finding a way forward but, for now, the factors that resulted in the Contractor action from 1 December 2021 remain. CPNI will seek to continue the engagement with health service officials immediately after the holiday period. We will also hold a Contractor Meeting early in January 2022 to provide you with further information and to engage with you further in relation to Contractors continuing to prioritise the provision of safe and commissioned services to patients. I realise that you and your teams have been to the forefront of the primary care response to the current pandemic as well as providing an expanding range of important core services to patients and undoubtedly you will be frustrated that this has not expedited a solution to the current MDS-Adherence issue being found by the Department. Please do not hesitate to contact CPNI office or your local CPNI Director Board member should you require any additional information.

Kind regards

Dear Colleague

The third update concessionary prices were granted for December 2021:

Drug	Pack Size	Concessionary Price
Co-amilozide 5mg/50mg tablets	28	£12.27
Ivabradine 5mg tablets	56	£7.93
Lercanidipine 10mg tablets	28	£2.53
Losartan 12.5mg tablets	28	£4.22
Prasugrel 5mg tablets	28	£36.41
Prasugrel 10mg tablets	28	£6.30
Ropinirole 500microgram tablets	5ml	£2.45
Trimethoprim 50mg/5ml oral suspension sugar free	100ml	£9.12

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

Concessionary prices may be granted up until the end of the month so CPNI will notify you of any further concessionary prices as and when they are agreed.

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 Colleague

Please find attached a reminder for recent Community Pharmacy Services.

COMMUNITY PHARMACY HOME DELIVERY SERVICE 

• This service is to ensure that eligible patients can have their medicines delivered in a manner which keeps both them and pharmacy staff safe from COVID-19.
• HSCB correspondence can be accessed HERE.
• The service specification can be accessed HERE.
• If you wish to participate in this service, please return a service contract to your local office.

COMMUNITY PHARMACY CARE HOME SUPPORT SERVICE

• The aim of this service is to provide a systematic review of all medicines management processes in the care home and to work with the home on the development of protocols & procedures to facilitate the safe ordering, supply, storage and administration of medicines and appliances and reduce avoidable waste.
• HSCB correspondence can be accessed HERE.
• The service specification can be accessed HERE.
• If you wish to participate in this service, please return by email your completed contract to your local office.

PHARMACY FIRST SERVICE

• The aim of this service is to  displace  activity,  including consultations,  advice  and  generating  prescriptions  for  common  conditions, from general practice to community pharmacy
• The service specification can be accessed HERE.
• If you wish to participate in this service, please return by email your completed contract to your local office.

ACTIONS

• If contractors you wish to participate in these services, please return by email relevant completed contract to your local 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

Tuesday 21 December 2021

Dear Colleague

Please find correspondence HERE which issued today from Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Michael McBride.

SUMMARY

Health and social care workers, including Community Pharmacy team members, identified as close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, including household and non-household contacts, will be permitted to attend work, provided all the requirements set out below are met:

• The staff member has had two doses of an approved vaccine, and has received a booster dose at least 14 days prior to the date of their exposure to the confirmed case. Staff who are not yet eligible for the booster because it is less than three months since their second dose can also return under this policy provided their second dose was more than 14 days prior to the date of exposure.
• The staff member should have a PCR test as soon as possible after their exposure and this PCR should return a negative result. Staff should not attend work while awaiting the PCR test result. If a staff member has had a positive COVID-19 PCR test in the past 90 days, they should not have a PCR test unless they develop symptoms. Instead they should take a lateral flow test (LFT) as soon as possible and before attending the workplace and if it is negative can return to work and follow the rest of this guidance – including continuing with daily LFTs.
• If the PCR test is negative, the staff member can return to work but should take a daily lateral flow test following receipt of the negative PCR result (including on the same day they receive that result) until the tenth day after the last date of contact with the positive case. The lateral flow should be taken before leaving for work each day.
• LFT results should be reported to Test and Trace via the web portal Report a COVID-19 rapid lateral flow test result – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . They should also report the result to the duty manager or an identified senior staff member. Any staff member who has a positive LFT should self-isolate immediately, not attend work and arrange a PCR test.
• The staff member should only attend work if they are and remain asymptomatic.
• Staff member should continue to adhere to all advised/required Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures, in line with the current UK IPC guidance and appropriate to the service setting to which the staff member is returning.
• If the staff member develops any COVID-19 symptoms they should stay at home, immediately self-isolate and arrange a PCR test.
• A risk assessment of the service area is undertaken and documented, along with of a record that all mitigations as set out above are in place (see Annex A). This should be undertaken by a suitably competent and authorised manager in the organisation.

Additional safeguards should continue to apply to settings where staff are deemed to be working in close contact with those at the highest risk of adverse consequences of COVID -19. This highest risk group would include, for example, patients on chemotherapy, transplant patients, those who have profound immune-deficiency and unvaccinated residents in care homes. This list is not exhaustive and local management may determine other groups in their setting.

ACTION

• Contractors should read the CMO correspondence in full and discuss with their teams
• Contractors should refer to the Checklist provided with the CMO correspondence

Should you have any queries please contact a member of the CPNI team.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

Dear Colleague

Please find correspondence HERE from Joe Brogan, Assistant Director of Integrated Care, Head of Pharmacy and Medicines Management.

SUMMARY

From today, community pharmacies can administer COVID-19 booster vaccinations to:

• individuals aged 18 years and over for whom it has been at least 3 months since their primary vaccination course has been completed.

The Community Pharmacy Service is only available to individuals aged 18 years and above.
The service specification, PGD and other relevant documentation for the COVID-19 community pharmacy vaccination service are available on the COVID-19 CPVS webpage.

ACTION

• Contractors and pharmacists involved in the provision of this service are asked to:Review the correspondence.
• Review the updated service specification, PGD and other relevant documentation for the COVID-19 community pharmacy vaccination service are available on the COVID-19 CPVS webpage.
• If you have any queries please contact Deirdre McAree (Deirdre.McAree@hscni.net), Katie Blair (Katie.blair@hscni.net) and Joanne Crawford (Joanne.crawford2@hscni.net).
• Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further information.

Kind regards

Dear Colleague

The second update concessionary prices were granted for December 2021:

Drug	Pack Size	Concessionary Price
Celecoxib 100mg capsules	60	£2.71
Celecoxib 200mg capsules	30	£1.77
Cinnarizine 15mg tablets	84	£3.90
Clomipramine 10mg capsules	28	£2.32
Clomipramine 25mg capsules	28	£4.76
Clomipramine 50mg capsules	28	£7.90
Fenofibrate micronised 160mg tablets	28	£5.31
Fludrocortisone 100microgram tablets	30	£12.56
Losartan 100mg / Hydrochlorothiazide 25mg tablets	28	£2.98
Losartan 100mg tablets	28	£3.84
Losartan 25mg tablets	28	£2.64
Losartan 50mg / Hydrochlorothiazide 12.5mg tablets	28	£3.35
Losartan 50mg tablets	28	£2.70
Metformin 500mg/5ml oral solution sugar free	150	£40.00
Nortriptyline 10mg tablets	100	£1.99
Rivastigmine 3mg capsules	28	£3.99
Ropinirole 250microgram tablets	12	£3.25
Sulfasalazine 500mg gastro-resistant tablets	112	£31.99
Topiramate 25mg tablets	60	£2.89
Trazodone 100mg capsules	56	£3.52
Warfarin 500microgram tablets	28	£1.62

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

Concessionary prices may be granted up until the end of the month so CPNI will notify you of any further concessionary prices as and when they are agreed.

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