Archives: Contractor Email

This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams, including details of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Colleague

In today’s update:

  1. CPNI contractor updates; CPVS stock limitations and updated Simply Book Me User Guide.
  2. COVID-CPVS Weekly Roundup
  3. DOH(NI) updated on COVID-19 vaccine AZ and thromboembolic events.
  4. COVID-CPVS update to eligible cohorts and JCVI guidance.

BSO ALERTS 

  • Weekly Drug Alerts are available here.
  • Weekly Shortages Information is available here.
  • Serious Shortage Protocols are available here.

CPNI ALERTS 

DoH ALERTS 

HSCB ALERTS 

Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).

Pharmacy team(s) can keep updated via CPNI’s Contractor Calendar and Contractor Emails. Or report medicine shortages or pricing issues via the CPNI’s Medicine Shortage Reporter.

Many thanks, stay safe – Gareth

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

Dear Colleague

Please find below correspondence from HSCB Pharmacy & Medicines Management team.

The latest Community Pharmacy COVID-19 vaccination figures can be viewed at the COVIDcare dashboard. Last week we achieved over 5000 vaccinations; an incredible figure in our first week. Thanks to everyone who was involved in this first week of activity!

Key Points

  • It is anticipated that supply issues will ease considerably at the end of April 2021. DoH will be releasing a statement on Monday to help manage public expectations. Your vaccine supply is still limited to one box at the moment. Please ensure your booking systems are reflective of your stock levels. Please do not contact Movianto or place new orders online until you have been notified by HSCB. If you have any queries in relation to this, please contact your local office. Please note that the pace of the service rollout across the entire COVID-19 vaccination programme is affected by restricted vaccine supply. Other sectors and vaccination services have been affected by this factor, not just Community Pharmacy. 
  • Please note that patients should NOT be referred back to their GP to attain their H & C number. This is not a mandatory requirement for data entry into the VMS but is an ideal piece of information (if available) to help the patient matching process.  If a patient has received prescriptions from your pharmacy in the past, their H&C number may be available on your PMR systems.
  • Update letter 14 has been issued at to notify on the recent cohort changes and JCVI statement regarding 18-29 year olds and the Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Please ensure you are aware of the recent changes in eligible cohorts. 
  • HSCB are monitoring any vaccinations provided outside of eligible cohort and may contact you if your pharmacy shows any activity in relation to this. 
  • The PGD will be updated to include the recent cohort changes in due course. This must be signed by the authorising manager and all pharmacists operating under the PGD for the COVID-CPVS. HSCB will notify you when this becomes available. 
  • As per service specification, please remember that an individual pharmacy must be the provider of both doses to a patient as part of a multi dose regimen vaccine (when clinically appropriate). Pharmacies are NOT able to administer a second vaccination if the first dose has been administered by another provider. This is being monitored by HSCB and you will be contacted if you have not adhered to this.
  • Remember to submit your weekly wastage and DNA figures using the online form. This is to be submitted on Monday (by 4pm). THIS MUST BE COMPLETED BY ALL CONTRACTORS. IF YOU ARE YET TO PLACE AN ORDER OR USE ANY STOCK PLEASE SUBMIT A NIL REPORT. 
  • Please ensure that your appointment booking processes are robust and that patient eligibility is confirmed either during booking or as soon as possible after. It may be useful to use disclaimers on any booking apps you are using to advise patients, if an appointment is booked and they are not eligible, the appointment will be cancelled. If you currently do not have stock available, please consider suspending bookings until HSCB have notified you of further stock. 
  • Before contacting your local HSCB office, please refer HERE for all the latest information on the service. Ensure you have read all the update letters. They have been date marked to make it easier to identify the recent  updates. 
  • For support on VMS – please ensure you referred to the VMS FAQs before making contact with your local HSCB office. 
  • For support on the entire service – please refer to the Service FAQs. **UPDATED AND NEW from 8 APRIL 2021**  These are accessible HERE. These are not for public viewing and are password protected. Password: CPVS001!
  • To manage your queries and any support needed in an efficient and timely manner, please do not contact individual HSCB staff directly unless told to do so. Please contact your local HSCB office, who will triage your query and send to the appropriate contact. We would ask for patience when trying to address your queries as demand on the service is high at this current time.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

Dear Colleague

As per HSCB correspondence due to current global vaccine supply constraints, each contractor has only been allocated an initial supply of one box of ten vials – this provides 80 doses. Contractors will be notified when more supply becomes available and further orders can be made.

CPNI continues to work with HSCB on the availability of AZ COVID-19 vaccine stock, and advocates for the release of further stock to community pharmacies. We acknowledge that the news today from DOH(NI) that a further cohort will be able to avail of vaccination, including within a community pharmacy setting, may lead to increased enquiries to contractors across Northern Ireland. Contractors and staff will have to take current COVID vaccination supply constraints into account when dealing with requests for COVID vaccination appointments.

CPNI offers renewed thanks to you for your incredible continued professionalism to make the service available to the public, and will communicate an update on stock when it becomes available.

Please bring this to the attention of all your pharmacy staff that are involved in the Community Pharmacy COVID vaccination service.

Renewed thanks, stay safe – Gareth

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

Dear Colleague

Please find HERE correspondence from Kathryn Turner, Pharmacy Lead, HSCB.

From today, individuals aged 40-44 years can be vaccinated through the
community pharmacy service.

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

Dear Colleague

I write to provide updated information to assist contractors and pharmacy team members with setting-up your SimplyBook.Me (SBM) Vaccine Booking Systems (VBS). The SBM COVID-19 Vaccine Booking Platform Updated User Guide contains all the key information that you will require and it should be made available to pharmacy staff involved in the set-up and maintenance of your SBM VBS including update on how to remove age categories from the booking form. All Pharmacy staff involved in the set-up and on-going use of the SBM VBS should be familiar with the contents of the manual and the SBM VBS platform.

Key immediate next steps for contractors and their key SBM VBS pharmacist(s) are:

  • Please refer to the Updated User Guide to help you and your key pharmacy VBS pharmacist(s) to complete the following important priority set-up stages if your platform is made available online.
  • Remove age categories from the booking form [page 22 Updated User Guide].

CPNI will continue to provide you with resources and assistance in relation to the Community Pharmacy COIVID Vaccination Service and the SimplyBook.Me Vaccine Booking system.

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

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

Dear Colleague

Further to CPNI CU#199 I can confirm that the PHA CPVS interactive map has been updated to include the e-link to the SimplyBook.Me Vaccine Booking System (VBS) for those CPCV pharmacies that asked for their SBM VBS details to be made available online. The PHA interactive map can be accessed here.

A further upload of community pharmacies, who want their online SBM VBS details to be added to the PHA interactive map, will take place w/c 12 April 2021 and you should contact ggilvary@communitypharmacyni.co.uk if you want your SBM VBS details to be added to the interactive map. Please contact Gareth on or before 12 April 2021.

Contractors providing COVID vaccination services are reminded that strict COVID Vaccination eligibility criterion apply; see here. All online Vaccine Booking Systems are asked to prominently feature a patient eligibility notice. Recommended wording for the eligibility notice on your SBM VBS landing is as follows

‘Members of the public will ONLY receive the COVID vaccination from the pharmacy if they fall into one of the eligible cohorts of patients as approved by the Department of Health – see cohorts HERE.The pharmacy is required to carry out patient eligibility checks and patient health checks prior to any vaccine being administered.

If you proceed to make an appointment and you are unable to provide proof of eligibility to receive the vaccine the Pharmacy will NOT be able to administer the vaccine to you and the Pharmacy reserves the right to release your booking.

Please note that ONLY patients registered with a GP in Northern Ireland can be vaccinated under the NI COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.’

CPNI will continue to provide you with resources and assistance in relation to the Community Pharmacy COIVID Vaccination Service and the SimplyBook.Me Vaccine Booking system.

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

Kind regards

SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive