Archives: Contractor Email

Dear Colleague,
 
Community Pharmacy Adherence Services – Updated HSCB Offer

As discussed at the Contractor meeting held on Tuesday 15th March the main points contained in the HSCB Community Pharmacy Adherence Service Updated Offer are as outlined below:

  • £8m additional funding will be paid to Contractors by 30th April 2022 for adherence services provided in 2021/22.
  • Recurrent additional funding of £4m will be provided for adherence services in 2022/23 and subsequent years. HSC colleagues have committed to seeking further funding when health service budgets are confirmed in 2022/23.
  • There will be a reduction in the monthly pay back of the special advance from £1.4m per month to £0.7m per month for a period of six months, with further easement on this repayment also being sought.
  • CPNI will continue to work with HSC colleagues to develop and commence the implementation in a phased manner of commissioned adherence services in 2022/23.  Phase 1 will see the provision of adherence services being reintroduced only for new patients who will be discharged from hospital, following a referral from the hospital pharmacist to the patient’s community pharmacy. The referral process is currently being fast-tracked for development by CPNI and HSCB, with new referrals likely to commence during April 2022.

CPNI, HSCB and DoH endorse the updated offer and the commitment to develop commissioned services in 2022/23. Furthermore, the Minister for Health Mr Robin Swann MLA formally endorsed this approach in a statement issued following a visit to Dundela Pharmacy, Belfast earlier today (here).

Mr Joe Brogan will be writing to contractors with further information in due course.

CPNI welcomes today’s announcement by the Minister and his consistent support for the community pharmacy sector, something that can be clearly seen in his letter of thanks to community pharmacy contractors and their teams (here) for the care and support provided to patients and the health service over the last two years. 

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

Dear Colleague,

NICPLD Reminder: Closing date 25th March 2022

The application process to become an accredited Educational Supervisor (ES) for the Foundation Training Year (FTY) 2022/23 is open and will close on 25th March 2022.

From projected numbers, NICPLD estimate that there are still a number of pharmacists who have agreed to act as an ES within the FTY 2022/2023 and have yet to apply to undertake the accredited ES training.

Please note that regardless of previous accreditation status, all pharmacists intending to undertake the role of ES for a foundation trainee in 2022/2023 must apply to become accredited for this role.

The application form can be accessed here as a Word document and here as a PDF. Prior to completing the application form, please review the Standards for Foundation Training Year (January 2022) to ensure that you meet the criteria to become an accredited ES. The completed form must be returned to nicpld-fty@qub.ac.uk by 25th March 2022. Late applications will not be considered.

Depending on your previous experience, you will be accredited via either Pathway 1 or Pathway 2 as outlined below:

Pathway 1 – for pharmacists who have acted as an ES within the FTY 2021/2022

These pharmacists will be required to participate in two accreditation webinars, each of 2 hours in duration. The webinars will provide an overview of the 2022/2023 programme, focusing on the new learning outcomes that will be introduced instead of performance standards and how these can be evidenced within the workplace setting. The webinars will be held on multiple dates during May, June and July to facilitate attendance. Webinar 1 must be undertaken prior to participating in Webinar 2. On completion of both webinars, pharmacists will be considered as accredited to act as an ES for a foundation trainee undertaking the 2022/2023 FTY. Pharmacists must participate in both webinars at least 7 working days prior to a foundation trainee commencing their training within the workplace.

Pathway 2 – for pharmacists who have never undertaken the role of an ES or who did not mentor a trainee within the FTY 2021/2022
These pharmacists will be required to participate in the two accreditation webinars as outlined above. In addition, they will be required to complete two NICPLD eLearning courses:

  • Developing others – Effective mentoring (3 hours)
  • Developing others – Effective workplace training (3 hours).

Pharmacists will be required to complete the eLearning courses prior to undertaking the two accreditation webinars in May/June/July. Pharmacists who completed the eLearning courses post January 2021 will not be required to complete them again.

On completion of the eLearning courses, pharmacists must complete the two accreditation webinars. Please note that Webinar 1 must be undertaken prior to participating in Webinar 2. Pharmacists will be considered as accredited to act as an ES for a foundation trainee undertaking the 2022/2023 FTY once all elements of the accreditation programme have been successfully completed. Pharmacists must complete all required accreditation elements at least 7 working days prior to a foundation trainee commencing their training within the workplace.

On receipt of your completed application form, NICPLD will consider if you meet the standards to become an accredited ES for the FTY 2022/2023. If so, you will be informed that you have been accepted onto the accreditation programme and you will be invited to register to attend/complete all elements of the accreditation programme. You will only become an accredited ES for the FTY 2022/2023 on completion of all of the required elements as outlined above.

If you require any further information relating to accreditation as an ES for the FTY 2022/2023, please do not hesitate to contact the NICPLD team at nicpld-fty@qub.ac.uk

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 

Pharmacy First Service for Everyday Health Conditions 14 March 2022

Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s). 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

Kind regards

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

Dear Contractor

Further to the Contractor Update issued on yesterday, I write to remind you that a contractor meeting will take place tonight, 8pm Tuesday 15 March 2022 at the Crowne Plaza, Belfast, 117 Milltown Rd, Belfast BT8 7XP.

I would ask that you make every effort to attend this important meeting where the updated offer for Adherence Services, received from Mr Joe Brogan in recent days and discussed at CPNI Board meeting, last Thursday 10 March 2022, will be outlined and discussed with contractors.

I would ask you confirm your attendance HERE, if you have not already done so.

Zoom facilities will be available in the event that you cannot attend the meeting in person (Meeting ID: 881 6796 1032 Passcode: 360267). Once you join the meeting via Zoom could I ask you to enter your name and the Pharmacy Contract / Group name in the chatroom box.

If you have any further queries, please contact CPNI via email ggilvary@communitypharmacyni.co.uk.

I look forward to seeing you on this evening.

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

  • Minor Ailments (MA) Service will now become part of the Pharmacy First Service. Pharmacy First for everyday health conditions will launch publicly in March 2022 with associated press releases and social media promotion.
  • There are no planned changes to the service this year, other than the name change. Patients will be encouraged to see their community pharmacist first for advice and treatment for the 13 conditions currently available under the MA Service.
  • Service resources including treatment algorithms and formulary are available on the Primary Care Intranet (PCI).
  • Newly designed promotional materials are available to download from the PCI.
  • Contracted community pharmacies will continue to offer the Pharmacy First Service for Winter Conditions until 31 March 2022. Please continue to submit activity forms to local offices each month as these will inform funding for future pharmacy services.
  • The Pharmacy First for Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) ECHO training session which was delivered live on Monday 21 February 2022 was recorded and is now available on the ECHO Moodle site. This recording must be viewed by all pharmacists prior to service delivery.
  • This pilot service has been available in 62 pilot pharmacies across NI since July 2021. Evaluation of the service is currently underway. Feedback from pharmacists, GP practices and service users has been very positive. It is anticipated that this service will be rolled-out across all community pharmacies later this year following positive evaluation and financial approval.

ACTION

  • Contractors are asked to review the correspondence.
  • If you have any queries 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 Canice Ward, Head of Medicines Regulatory Group, Department of Health.

SUMMARY

  • The online questionnaire format proved successful for the 2021 reporting year, the format will remain as an online questionnaire for the 2022 reporting year. There have been some minor changes and the addition of a new question for 2022.
  • The online questionnaire can be found at HERE and should be completed no later than 31 March 2022. Details relating to completion of the questionnaire are contained in the link.
  • Further information about the Regulations can be found on the Department’s website.

If you have any queries, regarding the completion of the questionnaire, please contact Aaron McKendry (02890 528628) aaron.mckendry@health-ni.gov.uk or Michelle Keatings (02890 520230) michelle.keatings@health-ni.gov.uk.

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