Dear Colleague,
I write to provide you with some further information on recent Community Pharmacy funding allocations, on ongoing progress being made with HSCB-DoH(NI) and an outline of which funding elements will be included in the payment BSO will release to Contractors later this week.
The funding allocations are summarised below. Any funding being released by BSO and paid to Contractors on 28th August 2020 is marked in red below.
CPNI continues to work with colleagues in the HSCB and DoH(NI) on the detail associated with the various elements and, as you will see, a number of aspects are still to be finalised. You will receive further correspondence from HSCB on these aspects in due course.
I also wish to advise you that in addition to the £13.25m funding announced by Robin Swann, Minister for Health on 1st July 2020, Mr Joe Brogan (HSCB) has also confirmed that business case approvals have been received for funding totalling £4m, linked to Medicines Adherence services within Community Pharmacy in 2020/21.
Summary Service & Payment information:-
£13.25m Community Pharmacy Funding.
- £10m Pharmacy Organisation component
- £2.25m will allocated for Business Continuity associated with COVID in the remainder of 20/21 – £250k will be processed by BSO each month to contractors for each of prescription months July’20-March’20. BSO will include the first £250k payment, for July’20, in the BSO payment that will be released to Contractors on 28th August’20 : each Contract will receive a payment of £474.38
- £7.75m will be allocated towards additional Staff Costs associated with COVID and the proposed new commissioned Community Pharmacy Delivery Service (further details on these will follow when finalised with HSCB)
- £7.75m will be allocated towards additional Staff Costs associated with COVID and the proposed new commissioned Community Pharmacy Delivery Service (further details on these will follow when finalised with HSCB)
- £3.25m Pharmacy Services
component
- Living Well – up to £1.25m will be made available for this service which is expected to recommence shortly (further details will follow when finalised with HSCB)
- Emergency Supply service – £1m will be allocated for the provision of this service throughout the remainder of 20/21 (further details will follow when finalised with HSCB)
- Pharmacy First – funding is secured for this new service in 2020/21 (further details to follow when finalised with HSCB)
- Care Home and Palliative Care services, initiated during COVID will continue in 2020/21 (further details to follow when finalised with HSCB)
£4m Medicines Adherence services within Community Pharmacy
- £3m has been secured for Domiciliary Care Support for the period April’20 to March’21. BSO will distribute a back-dated payment totalling £1m to Contractors for the period April’20-July’20 in the BSO payment that will be released on 28th August’20. BSO will then process £250k per month to Contractors during the rest of the 2020/21 year. These payments will be based on each pharmacy contract’s share of the overall Multiple Dispensing (MD) activity in 2019/20 and will therefore vary from pharmacy to pharmacy.
- £1mhas been secured by HSCB to enable pharmacy to complete and return to HSCB an agreed MDS Review Tool for patients receiving compliance support (further details to follow when finalised with HSCB)
This provision of the funding, commencing later this week and through out the rest of 2020/21, is positive and I hope it assists you as you plan for the provision of services to patients during the remainder of 2020/21.
Please do not hesitate to contact CPNI offices if you require any additional information.
Yours sincerely
SENT FOR AND BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE | Chief Executive
