Archives: Contractor Email

This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams.

CPNI ALERTS

DOH(NI) ALERTS

BSO ALERTS

Pharmacy team(s) can keep updated via CPNI’s Contractor Calendar and Contractor Emails.
Or report medicine shortages, pricing and staffing issues via CPNI’s Medicine Shortage Reporter and Situation Reporter.
Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
Gerard Greene
Chief Executive

Dear Contractor

SPPG issued a letter dated 30th November providing an Update on Community Pharmacy Funding following on from recent CPNI engagement with the Permanent Secretary, DoH(NI) and SPPG officials.  The SPPG letter confirms various funding provisions that will be applied in 2023/24.

In addition to confirming the suspension of Discount Clawback within your November and December 2023 BSO payments, the letter states that SPPG plans to:

  • Re-introduce Discount Clawback for the January 2024 BSO payment (December 2023 prescriptions) and,
  • Take forward new discount clawback arrangements which would remove the sliding scale arrangement and introduce, on a phased basis, three fixed discount rates for generics, appliances and brand medicines, with the February 2024 BSO payment (January 2024 prescriptions).

CPNI has consistently opposed the introduction of new discount arrangements within the context of the current level of funding and Drug Tariff arrangements.

This was a key element within the CPNI response to the 2022 DoH(NI) Consultation on Community Pharmacy Drug Reimbursement Reforms consultation (here) and has been clearly re-stated in recent correspondence to SPPG officials and the DoH(NI) Permanent Secretary (CPNI CU#231124B).

SPPG acknowledges within the letter that CPNI remains opposed to the new discount clawback arrangements.

CPNI continues to express grave reservations to officials about the impact that both the reintroduction of clawback in January 2024 and the planned introduction of proposed new discount clawback arrangements would have on contractors ability to meet wholesaler and business obligations going forward.

These, and other funding issues, will be discussed by Directors at the December CPNI Board meeting.

Further updates will be provided to you on these matters on an on-going basis.

Yours sincerely

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
The final update of concessionary prices were granted yesterday for November 2023:
DrugPack SizeConcessionary Price
Amisulpride 100mg tablets60£14.94
Azithromycin 250mg capsules6£1.59
Beclometasone 50micrograms/dose nasal spray200£2.60
Betahistine 8mg tablets84£3.80
Betamethasone valerate 0.1% cream100£4.05
Bimatoprost 100micrograms/ml eye drops3£3.95
Bimatoprost 300micrograms/ml / Timolol 5mg/ml eye
drops		3£4.58
Carbocisteine 250mg/5ml oral solution300£7.00
Chlorphenamine 2mg/5ml oral solution sugar free150£4.87
Clarithromycin 125mg/5ml oral suspension70£4.32
Clarithromycin 250mg/5ml oral suspension70£5.65
Co-amoxiclav 250mg/62mg/5ml oral suspension sugar
free		100£2.04
Co-amoxiclav 500mg/125mg tablets21£3.46
Co-codamol 30mg/500mg capsules *100£4.50
Co-codamol 30mg/500mg tablets30£1.20
Co-codamol 30mg/500mg tablets100£4.00
Colecalciferol 1,000unit capsules30£6.31
Cyclizine 50mg tablets100£4.35
Donepezil 5mg tablets28£1.99
Dorzolamide 20mg/ml / Timolol 5mg/ml eye drops5£5.07
Eplerenone 25mg tablets28£6.43
Estradiol 10microgram pessaries24£9.45
Etoricoxib 60mg tablets *28£2.99
Ezetimibe 10mg tablets28£9.44
Fluticasone 400microgram/unit dose nasal drops28£14.92
Frovatriptan 2.5mg tablets6£11.32
Haloperidol 1.5mg tablets28£3.28
Latanoprost 50micrograms/ml / Timolol 5mg/ml eye
drops		2.5£11.76
Lorazepam 500microgram tablets28£20.04
Mebeverine 50mg/5ml oral suspension sugar free300£210.43
Memantine 10mg/ml oral solution sugar free50£24.18
Metoprolol 50mg tablets28£3.24
Midazolam 10mg/2ml solution for injection ampoules10£5.15
Morphine sulfate 10mg/1ml solution for injection
ampoules		10£5.82
Oxycodone 5mg/5ml oral solution sugar free250£9.34
Pantoprazole 40mg gastro-resistant tablets28£3.16
Pyridostigmine bromide 60mg tablets200£23.48
Quinine sulfate 300mg tablets28£3.99
Riluzole 50mg tablets56£216.45
Ropinirole 2mg tablets28£21.56
Ropinirole 500microgram tablets28£15.75
Sitagliptin 100mg/5ml oral solution sugar free150£57.56
Sodium chloride 0.9% nebuliser liquid 2.5ml unit dose
ampoules		20£9.50
Tacrolimus 0.1% ointment30£20.03
Tacrolimus 0.1% ointment60£37.05
Telmisartan 20mg tablets28£3.37

* Please note these lines have had their previous concessionary price granted earlier in the month revised upwards.

Concessionary prices will be paid against the usual code, no additional endorsements are needed.

Please continue to notify CPNI of any pricing issues you are experiencing via our Medicine Shortage Reporter.

Concessionary prices are also published on the CPNI website.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
Northern Ireland’s Chief Pharmaceutical Officer issued correspondence today to community pharmacy contractors advising of proposed arrangements for the Foundation Training Year (FTY) Programme for 2025/26.  The proposed arrangements will be discussed by the CPNI Board of Directors at their meeting on 15th December, and contractors will be provided with an update thereafter.

SUMMARY

Contractors should note that:

  • Discussions have been ongoing for some time between the Department, CPNI and other relevant stakeholders in relation to the arrangements for the FTY programme 2025/26.
  • Throughout these discussions CPNI have impressed upon the Department, the essential role that community pharmacy teams play in training the pharmacists of the future, and accordingly, the need for clarity so that preparation can be made for the 2025/26 cohort.
  • As the standards for the FTY programme for 2025/26 have been updated to align with the revised GPhC/PSNI standards for Initial Education and Training, an essential element of the FTY programme will now include training each FTY pharmacist to also become an independent prescriber (IP).
  • IP training requires each FTY pharmacist in the 2025/26 programme to spend a period of time in a setting where they have the opportunity to develop prescribing skills under the direction of a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP).
  • As the majority of community pharmacies are not yet in a position to provide all elements of these IP training requirements for 2025/26, the DoH has had to explore options to facilitate the IP component of training by allocating FTY pharmacists to a hospital setting for part of their training.
  • The current proposal outlined in the CPO’s letter, is that funding will be provided for 200 FTY pharmacists to undertake FTY placements in NI, and each will spend 6 months in a community pharmacy setting and 6 months in a hospital setting.

Note: CPNI is fully aware that these 2025/26 proposals represent a significant change from the current FTY programme.  As such CPNI will review the proposal, and this will be discussed by the Board of Directors at their meeting on 15th December.

Note: CPNI continues to liaise with the Department to increase the availability of, and access to, IP training for community pharmacists, as well as increasing the number of prescribing services provided in community pharmacy.  CPNI are of the firm opinion that these steps will be essential enablers to ensure future FTY cohorts can complete their full training in the community pharmacy setting.

ACTION

Contractors:

  • Should read the CPO correspondence and share with relevant members of the pharmacy team.
  • Should note that the CPNI Board of Directors will provide further information to the network following discussion at their 15th December meeting.
  • May wish to continue to engage with and take details from prospective 2025/26 FTY recruits, while explaining that aspects of the programme are yet to be clarified, with further details expected in early 2024.

Contractors may contact the CPNI team should they have any queries.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

Dear Contractor

Further to Contractor Update (CPNI CU#231124B: Update on Meeting with Permanent Secretary) issued 24 November 2023, contractors will now have received their BSO Pharmaceutical Prescription Payment Summary Report.  The payment will be made on the last working day of November 2023 and relates to prescriptions dispensed in October 2023.

Under the “Ingredient Costs” heading on page 1 there is a line stating “Discount @ X%”.  The amount of money detailed in the adjacent columns is the Discount normally deducted from your drugs ingredient cost by BSO.  Following the agreement reached with CPNI last week, BSO will not be deducting the amount stated under the ‘Total’ heading from your BSO payment at the end of November 2023.

Under the “Adjustments” heading on page 5 there is a line stating “Two-month Cessation of Discount Clawback” – this should equal the ‘Total’ amount referred to in the paragraph above.

The agreement to suspend the discount deducted from your ingredient cost is for two months so your BSO report for the December 2023 payment will be constructed in the same way.

This is a welcome intervention at this time and CPNI will continue to work on behalf of contractors to find longer term solutions that support the development of community pharmacy in Northern Ireland.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams.

CPNI ALERTS

DOH(NI) ALERTS

BSO ALERTS

  • Weekly Drug Alerts are available here.
  • Weekly Shortages Information is available here.
  • Serious Shortage Protocols are available here.
Pharmacy team(s) can keep updated via CPNI’s Contractor Calendar and Contractor Emails.
Or report medicine shortages, pricing and staffing issues via CPNI’s Medicine Shortage Reporter and Situation Reporter.
Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
Gerard Greene
Chief Executive