Archives: Contractor Email

Dear Colleague
Please find correspondence HERE from Kathryn Turner, Pharmacy Lead, Strategic Planning and Performance Group.

SUMMARY

  • The regional seasonal influenza programme will officially begin on 19 September 2022 in tandem with the COVID-19 autumn booster programme, however contractors may proceed to vaccinate as soon as they have received deliveries of vaccine. 
  • Community pharmacies will support the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme by offering the influenza vaccine to those aged 18 years and over in the following groups:
    • 65yrs and over (including those who turn 65 by 31 March 2023)
    • those aged 50 to 64 years (including those who turn 50 by 31 March 2023)
    • pregnant women
    • RQIA registered care home residents and staff
    • carers
    • frontline Health and Social Care Workers
  • The service specification, PGD and protocol will be available HERE. The finalised PGD and national protocol will be available shortly.
  • Where possible, the DoH and PHA is recommending the co-administration of Flu and COVID-19 vaccines for persons eligible to receive both vaccines.
  • Pharmacies will be able to place orders for aQIV and QIVc vaccines with Movianto NI from 12 September 2022. Delivery of this initial vaccine stock will be w/c 19 September 2022.
  • Quotas will be in place to manage available stock. It is anticipated that initial quotas will be able to be increased once further stock is made available in October 2022
  • All patients vaccinated as part of the Flu-CPVS service must be recorded on the regional Vaccine Management System (VMS).
  • Pharmacy contractors will be reimbursed £9.92 per administered dose of vaccine. A set-up fee of £250 is payable upon commencement of the service.

ACTION

  • Contractors and pharmacists involved in the provision of this service are asked to review the correspondence.
  • Contractors are asked to ensure all staff are trained, competent and able to deliver the Flu-CPVS service in line with the service specification.
  • Contractors how do not currently have access to VMS can contact Tom Coyle (Tom.Coyle@hscni.net) who will provide further information on setting up and accessing VMS.
  • For those wishing to participate in this service, please return by email your completed contract to your local office contact by 5pm Friday 9 September 2022.
  • If you have any queries please contact Deirdre McAree (deirdre.mcaree@hscni.net) or Greg Miller (greg.miller@hscni.net).
  • Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further information.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
Please see attached training presentation from Community Pharmacy NI regarding the Community Pharmacy Interim Medicines Adherence Support Service. This video presentation will also be available on the Primary Care Intranet in due course.

If you have any queries please contact a Pharmacy Advisor at your local SPPG office. Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further information.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
Please find correspondence HERE from Kathryn Turner, Pharmacy Lead, Strategic Planning and Performance Group.

SUMMARY

  • The service will ensure that women and young people aged 13 years and over have timely access to sexual health advice and free EHC (including the provision of bridging contraception) when clinically indicated.
  • The aims of the service include:
    • Increasing the knowledge, especially amongst younger women, of the availability of EHC and bridging hormonal contraception from community pharmacies. 
    • Ensuring treatment is in line with best practice and NI Formulary.
    • Increasing the knowledge of risks such as Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
  • All pharmacists planning to deliver this service must undertake training necessary to meet the competency required to provide the service, this may include revision of training already undertaken earlier this year. Training details are available HERE.
  • The pharmacy contractor is responsible for ensuring that the service is delivered in line with the service specification and guidance by suitably trained pharmacists.  The following resources are available to support service delivery:
  • A3 and A4 printed copies of the service poster will be distributed to pharmacies along with a supply of the KYO patient leaflets.
  • An on-line survey for service users will be set-up to assist with the evaluation process. SPPG will provide pharmacists with a QR code to share with service users to complete the on-line survey approximately 3 months following service launch and periodically thereafter.

ACTION

  • Contractors and pharmacists involved in the provision of this service are asked to review the correspondence.
  • All pharmacists planning to deliver this service must undertake training necessary to meet the competency required to provide the service, this may include revision of training already undertaken earlier this year. Training details are available HERE.
  • All community pharmacy contractors meeting the service specification are eligible to offer the service provided they hold a contract with the SPPG. A signed copy should be returned to your local integrated care office by email as soon as possible.
    • After this date the list of providers will be shared with GP practices, GP OOH services and Trusts to enable referrals to participating pharmacies.
  • SPPG have requested that Contractors do not return a contract at this stage if your pharmacy is not in a position to offer the service.  A contract should only be returned when your pharmacy is ready to provide the service; the list of providers will be refreshed in early September 2022 and re-issued.
  • Pharmacies may wish to promote the service on social media using the Twitter and Instagram resources.
  • If you have any queries please contact a Pharmacy Advisor at your local SPPG office.
  • Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further information.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams, including details of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BSO ALERTS

CPNI ALERTS

DOH(NI) ALERTS

Pharmacy team(s) can keep updated via CPNI’s Contractor Calendar and Contractor Emails.
Or report medicine shortages, pricing and staffing issues via the 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 
DR. GARETH C. GILVARY
Governance & Support Pharmacist
Dear Colleague
CPNI has been liaising with DoH(NI), BSO and SPPG in relation to medicines supply issues that are impacting on Contractors in Northern Ireland including the unavailability of medicines, increasing medicine purchase prices and concessionary price insufficiency.

The concessionary prices granted in the Final Concessionary Prices release for August 2022 is the latest concessionary price release to clearly illustrate this and CPNI will be making representations to DoH(NI), BSO and SPPG as a matter of urgency.

The pricing evidence that Contractors provide to CPNI via the CPNI Medicines Shortage Reporter is vital and I want to thank you for the information provided to date and to urge you and colleagues to continue reporting pricing issues to CPNI.

Please do not hesitate to contact CPNI offices should you require any additional information or clarification.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE

Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
The final update of concessionary prices were granted today for August 2022:
DrugPack SizeConcessionary Price
Aripiprazole 5mg tablets28£5.00
Aripiprazole 10mg tablets28£31.99
Aripiprazole 15mg tablets28£14.39
Aripiprazole 30mg tablets28£32.50
Hyoscine butylbromide 10mg tablets56£6.12
Temazepam 10mg tablets28£16.96
Temazepam 20mg tablets28£17.67
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 new Medicine Shortage Reporter.

Concessionary prices are also published on the CPNI website.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF
DR. GARETH C. GILVARY
Governance & Support Pharmacist