Archives: Contractor Email

Dear Colleague
Please find correspondence HERE from Joe Brogan, Head of Pharmacy and Medicines Management, Health and Social Care Board.

SUMMARY

  • Pharmacy contractors are reporting significant work force pressures. Contributing factors include staff absences due to COVID-19 infection or having to self-isolate due to being in close contact with a COVID-19 case.
  • This has resulted in increased staffing costs, as contractors are required to pay other staff to cover the absences in order to remain open. It has therefore been determined that funding of up to £3,000 per community pharmacy should be provided to support additional staff costs.
  • Please see attached Grant Funding Allocation declaration form in respect of this funding. This declaration is an estimate of the funding that you will require for the period January to March 2022 and is required for HSCB budgetary purposes.

ACTION

  • Contractors and pharmacists involved in the provision of this service are asked to:
  • Please do not hesitate to contact your local HSCB office or 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 Prof Sir Michael McBride,Chief Medical Officer.

SUMMARY

  • This CMO letter circular replaces HSS (MD) 85/2021 with immediate effect.
  • The main change to this guidance is that it allows staff identified as close contacts of a confirmed COVID-19 case, to return to work without taking and waiting for a PCR result providing they do not work closely with the most clinically vulnerable patient and clients.
  • A risk assessment of the service area should be undertaken and documented along with a record that all mitigations as set out HERE are in place.

ACTION

  • Contractors and pharmacists involved in the provision of this service are asked to:Review the correspondence.
  • Please do not hesitate to contact your local HSCB office or the CPNI office should you require any further information.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

Dear Colleague

Contractors and CPNI have been advised in correspondence HERE that additional LFD are available for one-off collection by pharmacy personnel from 2 BSO facilities today, Friday 31 December 2021 and on Monday 3 January 2022 located at:

  • BSO Procurement and Logistics Service, Unit 1 Shore Commercial Park, 75 Belfast Road, Carrickfergus, BT38 8PH and
  • BSO Procurement and Logistics Service, Unit 4B Campsie Industrial Estate, Mcclean Road, Eglinton, Co.Londonderry, BT47 3XX.

Contractors are asked to note the arrangements that apply if LFD’s are being collected from either of the two BSO facilities. 

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 

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
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

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
The third update concessionary prices were granted for December 2021:
DrugPack SizeConcessionary Price
Co-amilozide 5mg/50mg tablets28£12.27
Ivabradine 5mg tablets56£7.93
Lercanidipine 10mg tablets28£2.53
Losartan 12.5mg tablets28£4.22
Prasugrel 5mg tablets28£36.41
Prasugrel 10mg tablets28£6.30
Ropinirole 500microgram tablets5ml£2.45
Trimethoprim 50mg/5ml oral suspension sugar free100ml£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

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