Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF Gerard Greene Chief Executive
Dear Contractor,
CPNI continues to press the Department of Health and SPPG for additional funding, including mitigation and support for the NIC and NMW/NLW cost increases applicable from April 2025.
Although CPNI has recently been advised by the Health Minister Mr Mike Nesbitt MLA that ‘community pharmacy funding pressures are being considered alongside the other priorities of the Department of Health’, the funding position as outlined in the letter that contractors received from SPPG dated 14th March 2025 here remains the current position.
With the impact of the first month of the NIC and NMW/NLW cost increases now being felt by the sector, CPNI will be holding two contractor meetings on 14th May (Belfast) and 15th May (Cookstown) to provide a further update to contractors following the May meeting of the CPNI Board. Further details regarding the contractor meetings will be shared in due course.
Should there be any funding updates in the meantime, CPNI will of course update you accordingly.
Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office or the CPNI Director representative for your area if you require any additional information at any stage.
Kind regards,
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
Further to recent updates on FTY 2026/2027 contractors will note that NICPLD issued correspondence on 10 April 2025, outlining the process for employers to opt-in to the programme.
SUMMARY
The FTY 2026/2027 opt-in invitation issued by NICPLD is available here and key dates are available here.
The closing date for the opt-in window is 25 April 2025.
If a pharmacy opts-in they will receive a link asking them to complete a second step where they upload their training placement details and accept the Terms of Participation.
The closing date for the second step is 16 May 2025.
IMPORTANT CONTRACTOR CONSIDERATIONS
If a contractor decides to “opt-in” they should be fully aware that once they complete the second step to upload their placement details and accept the Terms, they are considered to have given their commitment to providing the relevant placement(s) to any trainee allocated to them by the NICPLD selection process, including circumstances where specific adjustments are required.
Contractors must be aware that some important aspects of the FTY2026/2027 programme have not been finalised by NICPLD and are not likely to be available until 2026, such as the 2026/2027 Framework, Curriculum, Salary, Training Grant and programme SOPs.
It is likely that a CPNI contractor meeting will be scheduled to take place in May (details to follow), at which arrangements relating to the 2026/2027 FTY process will be discussed.
Any contractor who decides to opt-in prior to 25 April 2025, should not proceed to uploading their placement details or accepting the Terms unless they are fully satisfied with giving their commitment to participate in FTY 2026/2027.
ACTION
CPNI would urge any contractors who are considering participation in the FTY 2026/2027 programme to take the following steps prior to opting-in, uploading placement details, or accepting the Terms of Participation:
Take time to review, consider, and where necessary take HR, indemnity and legal advice on all aspects of the programme, including (but not limited to):
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI team or email Ennis.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
Correspondence regarding the Pharmacy First Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) Service has been issued by SPPG on 16 April 2025.
SUMMARY
Following a review of previous advice regarding the use of ulipristal acetate (UPA-EC) when breastfeeding, updated guidance has been issued by the FSRH stating that there is no need to avoid breastfeeding after taking a single dose of UPA-EC.
This is in line with the recommendations from the UK Drugs in Lactation Advisory Service which are published on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website.
Following this advice on breastfeeding, the following service documentations have been updated on the BSO website:
The most up-to-date versions of PGDs must be used and will need to be organisationally signed, and signed by the individual pharmacists delivering the service via PGD. Previous printed versions should be destroyed.
Please note: the advice on the use of EHC in exclusively breastfeeding mothers and the use of levonorgestrel remains unchanged:
Breastfeeding mothers: do not need EHC if they are exclusively breastfeeding (>85% infant feeds are breastfeeding), they are <6 months post-partum and their periods have not returned post-partum.
Levonorgestrel: women who breastfeed should be informed that the available limited evidence indicates that LNG-EC has no adverse effects on breastfeeding or on their infants. Women can be advised to continue to breastfeed after using LNG-EC.
ACTION
Please read the SPPG correspondence and share with all relevant members of the team.
Any queries regarding this letter can be directed to SPPG advisors at local offices.
Further to the CPNI update on Experiential Learning (EL) which issued on 14 March 2025, contractors are reminded that there is still time to complete the CPNI EL survey. The survey has been extended and will now close on 30 April 2025.
SUMMARY
The CPNI EL survey provides contractors with an opportunity to give their views on what is working well with EL in community pharmacy, and what improvements may be helpful.
NICPLD has indicated that EL feedback will be used to inform a review of the programme and the development of an ongoing EL strategy.
EL queries can be sent to the NICPLD programme lead Helen Hirst by emailing h.hirst@qub.ac.uk. Alternatively, should you wish to speak to a member of the CPNI team please feel free to email Ennis.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
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