CPNI wishes to make contractors aware of a number of updates in relation to Experiential Learning (EL), and a CPNI survey to collect contractor feedback on the programme. The survey will remain open until 16 April 2025.
SUMMARY
The EL programme commenced in 2023 and is now in its second year with the 2024/2025 programme due to conclude at the end of March 2025.
There are 211 community pharmacies actively participating in the programme, hosting approx. 696 placement weeks for students in the 2024/2025 programme year.
To date, 342 community pharmacists have completed the funded EL practice supervisor (PS) training.
EL is now facilitated in the three main pharmacy sectors – Community, General Practice and Hospital.
There are some key differences in the EL programme in community pharmacy and in general practice. For example:
Community pharmacies host an EL student for 5 days, where they are supported in completing their learning activities by a Practice Supervisor (PS).
General practices host an EL student for 3 days, during which time they are with a PS, and the remaining 2 days are spent in a group learning setting led by a funded GP Pharmacist Educational Lead.
NICPLD has confirmed that separate, additional funding has been provided to the GP Federation to facilitate the 8 x GP Pharmacist Educational Leads.
EL FEEDBACK
NICPLD collects and reviews feedback from EL students and their PS’s during each EL placement block.
Feedback from students and from community pharmacist PSs has been consistently positive.
Feedback from community pharmacy contractors is not routinely collected, however queries, comments and suggestions can be sent by email to h.hirst@qub.ac.uk.
Hospital pharmacists involved in EL have recently raised concerns regarding the number of EL students and have asked for a review of the programme in their setting.
Feedback from GP providers has not yet been shared, however feedback from the small cohort who participated in the 2023/24 programme helped to shape the current adaptations (3 days in practice, with additional funding for 2 days of group learning).
CPNI EL SURVEY
NICPLD has indicated that EL feedback will be used to inform a review of the programme and the development of an ongoing EL strategy.
CPNI has therefore developed a survey to gather views from community pharmacy contractors on what is working well and what changes may benefit the community pharmacy EL programme.
The survey is open to all contractors, regardless of participation in EL, and will remain open until 16 April 2025.
ACTION
Contractors are advised to:
Review the information provided above and share with relevant members of the pharmacy team.
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
BSO has raised a number of issues with CPNI associated with late submissions of prescriptions to BSO for payment. You and the pharmacy staff involved in the prescription submission processes to BSO are asked to consider the following:
The number of prescription submissions arriving late to BSO (beyond the 3-day courier collection period) is impacting on BSO’s ability to make payments to contractors with late submissions at month-end.
BSO payment processes are such that they only have a limited window in which to process the prescriptions in time for payment at month-end and they are increasingly not able to facilitate late prescription submissions.
Contractors will be aware that it is the responsibility of the contractor to make sure that prescriptions are received by BSO on time irrespective of whether a courier, a member of staff or any other method is used to transport the prescriptions to BSO.
Contractors and staff involved in prescription submission processes are asked to note the monetary value typically contained within the prescription submission for the pharmacy / pharmacies you operate.
For the purposes of illustration each prescription form should be considered equivalent to a ‘£20 note’. Teams should then consider how an equivalent ‘package of cash’ would be handled within the pharmacy, the storage of it until it is taken by the staff member to BSO or handed over to a courier driver for onward transportation to BSO.
In a number of instances prescription submissions were not received by BSO for several days after they left the pharmacy and the submissions were subsequently classified as ‘missing’ while en-route to BSO.
Factors involved in several of these cases included
i) the prescription submission package intended for transportation to BSO being mistaken for drugs being returned to a pharmaceutical wholesaler.
ii) illegible or missing address details and
iii) poor packaging contributing to transportation difficulties.
Contractors and staff are also asked to note the GDPR obligations associated with the handling of the confidential patient information contained on prescription forms while they are in the pharmacy and en-route in a submission to BSO.
Contractors can consider the following Do’s and Don’ts. You may wish to make all staff who are involved in any process associated with prescriptions being prepared for submission to BSO aware:
Do’s
Ensure pharmacy staff follow the BSO guidance here and here when coding, prepping, bundling and documenting the submission of prescription forms prior to submission to BSO for payment.
Ensure prescriptions are ready for submission to BSO on-time and in accordance with the schedule. Please note: failure to do so may result in BSO not being able to make your payment at month-end.
Ensure that prescriptions being transferred to BSO are securely contained within a robust container (secure box/secure package etc).
Ensure that the BSO address (and/or any relevant courier labelling) is clearly visible and securely retained on to the container.
Ensure the container is clearly identifiable to all relevant pharmacy staff as the BSO prescription submission irrespective of whether it is transported to BSO by a staff member or a courier. The use of ‘high visibility’ colour-coded security tape on the container may be helpful in this.
Separate and securely store the prescription submission package/container away from any other packages/parcels/wholesaler boxes that staff and/or 3rd party drivers have access to in the pharmacy.
Only authorised pharmacy staff should be permitted to hand over the BSO prescription submission to the pharmacy staff member or the courier transporting the prescription submission to BSO.
If using a courier, ensure that all processes are followed before the courier leaves the pharmacy with the BSO prescription submission.
The prescription submission must be ready by 9am of the first day of the agreed collection period.
Ensure that an authorised and ID identifiable member of the courier staff is collecting the prescription submission.
If the courier does not arrive within the agreed collection period, they and the BSO should be contacted urgently, with the aim of getting the submission to BSO on time.
The submission box should have a tracking label clearly placed on to the box, and any possible previous delivery information on the box should be removed to negate any confusion to the driver.
Securely retain all documentation confirming the collection of each prescription submission.
Contact BSO if, for any reason, your prescription submission is not transferred to BSO within the 3-day submission period required by BSO.
Don’ts
Do not hand any prescription submissions over to any individuals that are not authorised to transfer/transport prescriptions to BSO on your behalf.
Do not hand any prescription submissions over to any individuals if you have any doubts about the prescription submission reaching BSO.
BSO wish to acknowledge the cooperation of those contractors that submit prescriptions in accordance with the set timelines and requirements.
Please contact CPNI office if you require any further advice regarding this.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
For the attention of Community Pharmacies providing the Spring 2025 COVID-19 Community Pharmacy Vaccination Service
Dear Contractor
SPPG have issued correspondence on 12 March 2025 relating to the COVID-19 Spring 2025 Vaccination Programme.
SUMMARY
The Spring 2025 vaccination programme will officially begin on 07April 2025 and SPPG is offering all contractors the opportunity to participate in this service.
Contractors intending on participating in the Spring 2025 vaccination service should complete the contract here by Monday 31 March 2025. Full details of the contract can be viewed within the correspondence.
Those contractors who wish to offer the service to local residential care homes should initiate a pairing arrangement with the care homes they plan to vaccinate.
The Care Home pairing should be completed before 5pm on Friday 21 March 2025 and the form can be accessed here.
Community pharmacies will offer the COVID-19 Spring 2025 vaccine to the following eligible cohorts:
All residents in a care home registered with the RQIA.
Aged 75 years or older.
Immunosuppressed patients aged 18 to 74 years (as defined in table 3 in the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book).
The service specification, PGDS, and protocols will be available soon on the BSO website here.
Contractors can only proceed with the service on 7 April 2025 if all of the following are in place:
a legal PGD/protocol is in place and has been authorised.
All service documentation has been completed including a signed contract.
Vaccine stock has been received.
Orders for COVID-19 Comirnaty JN.1 can be placed with Movianto from 31 March 2025. Pharmacies are requested to only order quantities of vaccines to cover 2 weeks anticipated activity.
All patients vaccinated as part of the CPVS must be recorded on to the VMS. The vaccination record should be recorded ideally at the time of administration, and at the latest within 24 hours (or by the next available working day).
Providers that do not have access to VMS can contact Tom Coyle for assistance. Please note: it may take up to 10 working days to set up a new pharmacy access to VMS.
Information on remuneration is detailed within the correspondence, and fees payable will be processed by the BSO based on appropriate entry on VMS.
ACTION
Contractors should review the correspondence issued on 12 March 2025 and share this information with relevant members of the pharmacy team.
CPNI has received a letter dated 6 March 2025 from NICPLD, outlining that Department of Health funding will be made available to support community pharmacists to secure a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) for Independent Prescribing (IP) training.
SUMMARY
Department of Health funding of £1500 will be made available for up to 50 eligible DPPs who agree to support a community pharmacist to undertake IP training in Cohort 19 of NICPLDs IP training programme, commencing August 2025.
The DPP support scheme will launch on 19 March 2025.
The IP application deadline has been extended to 15 April 2025.
In advance of the launch, NICPLD will begin to compile a list of DPPs who are willing to support a community pharmacist under the scheme.
DPPs can be medical or non-medical prescribers (such as community pharmacist IPs) and must meet the DPP criteria outlined in the NICPLD letter.
Any prescriber who would like to express their interest to act as a DPP under the scheme can do so by completing the online form before 18 March 2025.
ACTION
Contractors are asked to note the information provided in the NICPLD letter, and share with relevant members of the team, including any community pharmacists considering IP training, and any existing community pharmacist IPs who may consider acting as a DPP under the support scheme.
Queries on the DPP support scheme can be sent to Nicpld-prescribing@qub.ac.uk. Alternatively, please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI team or email Ennis.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
CPNI wishes to make contractors aware of a number of updates in relation to Foundation Training Year (FTY) for 2025/2026 and 2026/2027.
SUMMARY
FTY 2025/2026:
Pharmacy contractors who secured a 6-month FTY training grant for 2025/2026 will by now have made an offer of employment to a pharmacy student.
These contractors will have received an email from NICPLD in February asking them to confirm the student’s placement and complete the FTY provider declarations.
CPNI has been made aware that there are three pages of FTY provider declarations, which are more extensive than in previous years.
The revised declaration was not discussed with CPNI in advance of it being issued and we have requested a meeting with NICPLD to discuss some aspects contained within the declaration.
CPNI notes that a number of the declarations are based on aspects of the NICPLD FTY Framework.
NICPLD has indicated that contractors have up to 5 May 2025 to consider and return their FTY provider declarations, and have advised that queries can be directed to the NICPLD team at nicpld-fty@qub.ac.uk.
A revised FTY application timeline has been uploaded to the NICPLD website in light of delays arising from some FTY employers in confirming their nominated DPPs and ESs.
FTY 2026/2027:
Based on student numbers in the schools of Pharmacy in NI and those who apply from other parts of the UK, and given the cap of 200 funded FTY training placements, it is likely that not all students who wish to undertake FTY in NI in 2026/2027 will be able to secure a FTY place.
Discussions are ongoing between the Department of Health, NICPLD and pharmacy employer representatives to develop a joint recruitment, selection and admission process for 2026/2027, through a Task and Finish group.
Background information on the work of the Task and Finish group is provided in their letter to employers.
The Task and Finish group invited pharmacy employers to a Webinar in December 2024 to review options relating to a joint recruitment, selection and admission process for FTY 2026/2027. A paper outlining the options is available here.
Following an indication that option 3 would be adopted, CPNI wrote formally to the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer to ask that legal advice be sought in relation to the legality of a process whereby:
The Department will fund the training in a manner which creates disparity in pay and terms and conditions between community and hospital placements.
NICPLD will facilitate the recruitment, selection and admission of trainees, and individual employers will no longer be able to select their trainee.
Community pharmacies and hospital trusts will be required to act as the employer and provide a contract of employment to the trainee allocated to them.
On 25 February 2025, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer advised stakeholders, including CPNI, that Departmental legal advice indicates that the joint process will require the employers to give their explicit agreement to the terms of participation, to accept a student who is recruited through the process and to accept their obligations as an employer.
The Department has indicated that employers may wish to seek their own HR and legal advice prior to giving any agreement.
ACTION
Contractors involved in FTY 2025/2026 are advised to carefully review the FTY provider declarations prior to the submission deadline of 5 May 2025, and direct any queries to NICPLD.
Contractors considering involvement in FTY 2026/2027 are advised to carefully review all aspects of the programme and consider taking legal and/or HR advice before providing agreement to participate.
CPNI Board will be considering the issues contained in this Contractor Update at its March CPNI Board meeting later this week, with Contractors being updated accordingly thereafter.
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
This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams.
Changes to the distribution of Creon® from 1 March 2025
Viatris UK has confirmed here, from 1 March 2025, all orders of Creon® preparations should be placed with Alliance Healthcare UK only.
Licensed Creon® preparations will no longer be available from other suppliers.
Contractors should update the wholesaler preference on their ordering system for all Creon® products.
Currently there are two active SSPs until 23 May 2025 for Creon® 10000 and Creon® 25000 gastro-resistant capsules, enabling community pharmacists in Northern Ireland to limit the quantity of these products supplied to a total equivalent of one month’s supply to ensure equity access of stock for patients.
Further information regarding SSPs can be found on the BSO website here.
Recognition of Excellence Awards
Nominations are open for this year’s Recognition of Excellence Awards. The national awards programme is exclusively for community pharmacy support staff, and it focuses on rewarding hard-working and dedicated individuals who go above and beyond the call of duty to support their patients, pharmacies and communities. In previous years, local community pharmacy teams have been recipients of these awards.
Entries close on the 4th April 2025. Further information on the categories and how to enter is available here.
Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF Gerard Greene Chief Executive
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