Archives: Contractor Email

Dear Colleague,

The following concessionary prices have been granted for June 2020:

Drug Pack Size Concessionary Price
Duloxetine 40mg gastro-resistant capsules 56 £9.72
Estradiol 1mg tablets 84 £6.89
Estradiol 2mg tablets 84 £6.89
Imipramine 25mg tablets 28 £5.95
Lamotrigine 100mg dispersible tablets sugar free 56 £8.99
Lamotrigine 25mg dispersible tablets sugar free 56 £4.95
Lymecycline 408mg capsules 28 £5.80
Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride 60mg tablets 100 £9.38
Tetracycline 250mg tablets 28 £4.82
Trihexyphenidyl 2mg tablets 84 £7.58
Valaciclovir 500mg tablets 10 £20.59

This is the first update of concessionary prices for June 2020.

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

Concessionary prices may be granted up until the end of the month so CPNI will notify you of any further concessionary prices as and when they are agreed.

Please continue to notify CPNI of any pricing issues you are experiencing.

Concessionary prices are also published on the CPNI website www.communitypharmacyni.co.uk

Kind regards,

Katherine

SENT FOR AND BEHALF OF KATHERINE KIDD | Head of Pharmacy Development

Dear Colleague,

By now you will have received the attached letter dated 2nd June 2020 from HSCB in relation to community pharmacy funding assurance.  A number of payments have been made to community pharmacy contractors since the COVID-19 response was initiated.  It is understandable that HSCB have to seek assurances around the use of public funds as all spending is subject to scrutiny from auditors.  In order to gain assurances from community pharmacy there are two templates to be completed and returned to local HSCB offices by FRIDAY 19TH JUNE 2020.

These payments relate to £2.5m paid towards premises modifications from March to May 2020 and £5m paid towards staff pressures from March to June 2020.

It may be helpful for you to know when these payments were made so you can work out the exact amount you were paid from the payment report information that was sent to you by BSO.

The £2.5m premises modifications payment was made on 3rd April 2020 by BACS.  This was the full amount towards premises modifications.

£1m was paid towards staff pressures on 3rd April 2020 by BACS.

The remaining £4m for staff pressures was paid on the 30th April 2020 with your BSO payments (for March prescriptions).

CPNI have also drafted a factsheet outlining some of the factors you may wish to consider when completing your template form.  This list is not exhaustive and there may be other factors you wish to include.  Some points have been included under both premises and staff pressures.  Each contractor will know which category to specifically allocate their own costs.

I trust you find this helpful.

Yours sincerely

SENT FOR AND BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE | Chief Executive

Download

Dear Colleague,

A late concessionary price has been released for MAY 2020 and is as follows:

Drug Pack Size Concessionary Price
Ranitidine 150mg Tablets 60 £7.32

Kind regards,

Katherine

SENT FOR AND BEHALF OF KATHERINE KIDD | Head of Pharmacy Development

Dear Colleague,

I write to inform you of the sad news that our esteemed friend and colleague, Lindsay Gracey passed away late yesterday afternoon in hospital.

Many of you will have known Lindsay through his work as a community pharmacist in his native Ballymena, a Director on the Board of CPNI and in his role as Chairman of CPNI between 2010 – 2013.  Lindsay’s dedication and contribution to his local community and the profession was clear to all those who knew him and his commitment and enthusiasm for the profession knew no bounds.

He will be dearly missed by everyone whose lives he touched, none more so than those closest to him and our thoughts and prayers are with Gillian and the family at this sad time.

Yours sincerely

SENT FOR AND BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE | Chief Executive

Dear Contractor

COVID testing in pharmacy settings

The Department of Health and HSCB have issued guidance to pharmacists who may be considering offering testing for COVID-19 (attached).

Summary

The letter addresses rapid point of care tests, laboratory-based tests and tests for home use.

The letter indicates that:

  1. At present, Public Health advice is that use of products that give a rapid result is not advised. There is little evidence on the accuracy of rapid point of care tests, or on how a patient’s antibody response develops or changes during COVID-19 infection, and it is not known whether either a positive or negative result is reliable;
  2. MHRA has asked providers of laboratory-based COVID-19 antibody testing services using capillary blood collected by a fingerprick to temporarily stop providing such services until home collection of this sample type has been properly assessed and validated for use with these laboratory tests;
  3. No home testing kits have received a CE mark and there are no testing kits available in the UK for home use. This means it is currently unlawful to supply such tests for use by members of the public.

Contractors are reminded that using the wrong type of testing kit in the wrong setting can lead to inaccurate results, a false sense of protection or recovery, and increased pressure on our HSC services.  Pharmacists are advised to act in accordance with recommendations from Public Health and MHRA, within the law and within their own professional competencies.

Action

Contractors should:

  • Familiarise their dispensing teams with this advice.

CPNI colleagues will continue to support contractors and their staff throughout the coming weeks.

Kind regards

Mike

Sent on behalf of Prof Mike Mawhinney | Head of Regulatory Affairs

Download

Dear Colleague,

During the lockdown period it has been noted that there has been a higher number of scams taking place that are targeting members of the general public.  The Police Service of Northern Ireland has asked if community pharmacies could be provided with Scamwise leaflets (see attached) that can be handed out for older and vulnerable persons.

Alliance Healthcare will be distributing these leaflets to all pharmacies in the coming days.  We would appreciate if you could look out for these and make them available as appropriate in your pharmacy when they arrive.

Many thanks for any support you can provide with this matter.

Yours sincerely

SENT FOR AND BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE | Chief Executive

Download