SPPG have issued correspondence regarding the availability of antimicrobial agents used in tuberculosis (TB).
SUMMARY
The letter provides additional advice and guidance on the actions to take within general practices and community pharmacies to maintain essential patient access to treatment with anti-tuberculosis (TB) medicines. The advice in this letter should be used in conjunction with the updated National Patient Safety Alert issued on 1 August 2025 until the supply disruptions are resolved.
ACTION
Community pharmacists should read the contents of the letter and share with relevant members of the community pharmacy team.
Any further updates will be shared as they become available.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams.
Department of Health and Social Care (UK) Call for Evidence
The UK Department of Health and Social Care has opened a UK-wide call for evidence on private medicines prescribing and supply mechanisms. This does not include NHS prescribing, rather it focuses on:
prescriptions written by prescribers registered in the European Economic Area (EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Switzerland, that are dispensed in the UK;
private prescriptions written by UK prescribers;
medicines accessed through private patient group directions (PGDs).
The department is seeking views from the public, patients and healthcare providers on the effectiveness of clinical governance, oversight and regulation of each of the 3 prescribing mechanisms listed above, and the impact these routes of prescribing and supply may have on:
the safety of people accessing medicines;
the quality of care that people receive.
The call for evidence is open for 12 weeks and will close at 11.59pm on 4 November 2025. Community pharmacy teams can read more about the call for evidence and how to participate by visiting the department webpage here.
UCA Upcoming Events and Training
UCA colleagues have shared details of the following upcoming events and training:
Saturday 13th September 2025 – Vaccination Training (full day and refresher) in Limavady. Further details are available here and on the UCA website.
Sunday 21st September 2025 – Vaccination Training (full day and refresher) in Belfast (Ulster University, York St). Further details are available here and on the UCA website.
Wednesday 1st October 2025 – The NI Pharmacy Brunch, 9am-2pm in the Crowne Plaza, Belfast. Further details available here.
NICPLD In-person Workshop on Clinical Skills
NICPLD colleagues have shared details of an upcoming workshop titled “Introduction to Clinical Skills and Decision Making” taking place on Tuesday 9 September 2025 in Stranmillis University College, Belfast, from 10am-4.30pm.
The learning outcomes will include core clinical skills such as accurate measurement and interpretation of blood pressure, urine dipstick analysis, and application of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2), as well as medical history taking, identifying red flags, and clinical reasoning skills. Further information and booking details are available here.
BSO have switched the Multi-Factor Authentication for VMS from the Belfast Trust Tenant to the HSCNI Tenant. You will be unable to access the Vaccine Management System (VMS) until a new Multi-Factor Authentication method has been set up for each account.
Instructions in how to set up new Multi-Factor Authentication are linked here, please complete this process as soon as possible.
There will be no change in how you access the Vaccine Management System, with the only noticeable difference being the Belfast Trust logo will be replaced by the HSCNI logo when signing in.
If you encounter any issues completing the setup process please email Grainne.McMahon4@hscni.net, please attach a screengrab of the issue if applicable so it can be forwarded on to BSO IT for support.
REMINDER: VMS Passwords
Primary VMS Account: the password for VMS (under the Pharmacy.XXXX@hscni.net user account) is the same as your current password for the Portal. If you change the password for the Portal. the VMS password will also change to match this.
Second VMS Account: All users have been provided with a second VMS login (under the Vaccine.XXXX@hscni.net user account) at the time of account setup. The password for this account is detailed in the original email that provided your VMS login details and cannot be changed. If you no longer have a record of the password for this account, please contact Grainne.McMahon4@hscni.net.
Pharmacy First for Shingles Pilot Service Extended to 31st March 2026
*** FAO: Pharmacies participating in the Pharmacy First for Shingles Pilot Service ***
Dear Contractor
SPPG issued correspondence dated 20 August 2025 advising that the Pharmacy First for Shingles Pilot Service has been extended to 31 March 2026.
SUMMARY
The SPPG letter advises that the Pharmacy First for Shingles Pilot which launched on 6th January 2025, will now continue until 31st March 2026.
Updated service resources including PGDs, service specification and consultation form, will be circulated in the coming weeks.
A review of the pilot is being undertaken by Medicines Optimisation and Innovation Centre (MOIC) as outlined in the SPPG letter dated 15th July 2025.
Participating pharmacies who have not yet submitted records relating to 6th January – 30th June 2025 are asked to do as outlined in the letter by Friday 29th August 2025.
ACTION
Contractors participating in the Pharmacy First for Shingles Pilot Service should read the SPPG letter and share with relevant members of the pharmacy team.
Queries in relation to Pharmacy First Services can be directed to local SPPG Pharmacy Advisers.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
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