Archives: Contractor Email

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.

Recruitment of BSO Pharmaceutical Chair

Contractors interested in applying to the position of Chair of the Pharmaceutical Committee of the Business Services Organisation (BSO) are reminded that the closing date for receipt of applications is 17th October 2025.

This is a recruitment process undertaken by the Department of Health to appoint a pharmacist to this position.  The time commitment for this role is a maximum of eight days per annum, inside and outside normal working hours.

Further information is available in the document (here) and 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 Pricing/Supply 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,

This is a final call for any outstanding Community Pharmacy Daily Interventions Surveys.

If your pharmacy has not yet submitted its Master Form, please do so before 6pm on Monday 13th October 2025.  The information collected through this survey is vital to demonstrate the scale and impact of non-commissioned activity taking place in community pharmacies, highlight unmet needs, and provide robust evidence to support future funding and service development discussions.

Please ensure that:

  • All daily logs have been collated accurately into the Master Form (excel here or pdf here).
  • All tabs at the bottom of the form are completed.
  • All activity is included, no matter how routine it may seem, to avoid under-representing the work undertaken in your pharmacy.
  • Only one completed Master Form per pharmacy is submitted.

Your participation is essential to ensure the true contribution of community pharmacy is recognised and represented.  Thank you for your time, effort, and continued support in completing this important piece of work.

Kind regards,

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

Dear Contractor,

The Department of Health NI issued correspondence dated 3 October 2025 regarding amendments to the Medicines Act 1968 and the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (HMRs) relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing.

Legislative amendments which were made in June 2025 under The Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing etc.) Regulations 2025 have now come into operation in Northern Ireland from the 1st October 2025.

Further information is outlined in the letter which can be accessed here.

Note: The DHNI correspondence refers to the legislative amendments that have come into force to enable Hub and Spoke dispensing models and Original Pack dispensing.  As a next step, CPNI will proceed to engage with the Department of Health to consider the required amendments to the Pharmaceutical Terms of Service NI to enable Hub and Spoke dispensing and Original Pack dispensing within the NI Health Service.

Should contractors have queries they may wish to get in touch with member of the CPNI team.

Kind regards,

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive

Dear Contractor,

The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland is celebrating its centenary year and as part of the celebrations has released a series of podcasts.  The most recent podcast features CPNI’s Head of Regulatory Affairs, Professor Mike Mawhinney.

The podcast can be accessed here: 
https://shows.acast.com/67b2fb414d9bd1092ca3dea3/episodes/68dd10ba597bc7d53fe7f51d?

Mike is no stranger to community pharmacy and reflects on his views of the sector particularly contractors and community pharmacy teams during the podcast.  The podcast is certainly worth a listen and a snapshot of the conversation can be found below.

“For me there are few areas that encapsulates the core values of pharmacy in Northern Ireland any better and epitomises our 100 years in existence here than the pharmacy contractors and the community pharmacy teams, and those colleagues in the CPNI Board of Directors who, by bringing a very unique experiential framework and a unique perspective on the professional world to the table, so ably represent them.  This contributes to encapsulating what we are in Northern Ireland as a profession.  Collectively these professionals provide for the complex health needs and support of so many patients and their carers on a daily basis – they are an extraordinary cohort of people.  I think that they teach us all the value of professional commitment, of putting needs of others first, of going the extra distance for patients by carrying out unseen and hidden acts – even to their own detriment – to make peoples’ lives better despite the most challenging of times.”

The podcast can also be accessed through Linked In where you may wish to leave a comment.  I am sure you will all acknowledge and appreciate the words Mike chose when speaking so fondly of the community pharmacy network.

Kind regards,

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
The Northern Ireland Cyber Security Centre (NICSC) has released two very short videos in its Cyber Awareness series, focusing on Phishing Awareness and on Password Security Best Practices.

📺 Watch the video here: Phishing Awareness | Biteable
⏱️ Duration: Approximately 2 minutes

📺 Watch the video here: Password Security Best Practices | Biteable
⏱️ Duration: Approximately 2.5 minutes

Action

Contractors are asked to:

  • Note the short videos issued by NICSC on two very topical issues; and
  • Share these with relevant members of the pharmacy team and encourage them to take a moment to watch both.

Contractors are reminded that the storage and back up of patient sensitive data and any amendments to your systems should only be carried out in line with advice from your IT or email provider, PMR system provider and in line with Data Protection legislation.

Kind regards

Mike

SENT ON BEHALF OF
PROF MIKE MAWHINNEY
Head of Regulatory Affairs

** FAO LIVING WELL PHARMACIES ONLY **

Dear Contractor,

SPPG have issued correspondence thanking those who have returned signed contracts for the TARGET Antibiotic Checklist Brief Intervention service.  This service will run between 6th October 2025 and 30th November 2025.  Further information can be found in the service specification.  All documentation relating to the TARGET Antibiotic Checklist Brief Intervention service are on the BSO Living Well webpage.

Checklists can be uploaded electronically from 9am on Monday 6th October 2025.  Please click here to access the checklist link.

  • As each paper form is completed, number them from 1-25.
  • As each form is uploaded to the MS form, annotate the form to confirm it has been uploaded.  This will prevent any duplicate uploads.
  • If possible, upload forms as they are completed to ensure all submissions are made in a timely manner.
  • 25 completed checklists must be submitted to ensure payment.
  • Key dates:
    • Checklists can be completed starting on Monday 6th October 2025.
    • All checklists must be completed by 30th November 2025.
    • The final date for submission of checklists is 12th January 2026.

If you encounter any difficulty in completing 25 checklists, please contact paula.mcmaster2@hscni.net in advance of the deadline of 30th November 2025.

Please ensure this information is shared with all relevant members of your pharmacy team.

Kind regards,

SENT ON BEHALF OF
GERARD GREENE
Chief Executive