SPPG have issued correspondence to community pharmacy contractors providing further clarification regarding changes to payment methodology for adherence support funding. A letter has also been issued to GP practices to address some issues that have arisen in relation to instalment dispensing instructions and endorsements on prescriptions.
SUMMARY
Further to correspondence of 23rd July 2025, the letter clarifies that whilst the separate monthly payment in relation to adherence has now ceased, this funding has not been withdrawn. Instead, this funding is now incorporated into the increased dispensing fees. The letter also covers some key points:
Provision of adherence support is not linked to Instalment Dispensing Endorsement. Community pharmacies must not ask GP practices to endorse ‘Dispense Weekly’ on prescriptions for new patients, for the purpose of adherence support.
Legacy patients should not have instalment dispensing instructions removed unless they have been reviewed on an individual patient basis and the prescriber is satisfied that removing the legacy instructions poses no risk to the patient.
GP annotations such as “compliance aid”, “blister pack” or “MDS” are not an instruction to ‘dispense weekly’ and cannot be coded as such. These annotations are not a prescriber direction for instalment dispensing and should not be used as a method for requesting adherence support from a community pharmacy.
The Global Sum is a finite budget, with ID and OD fees based on projected volumes of activity in 2025/26. The activity/expenditure will continue to be monitored and the longstanding process will remain in place i.e. in the event of a projected underpayment, a balancing payment will be made to contractors, or equally, in the event of a projected overpayment, fees will be reduced or recovery of funding will take place.
Please share this correspondence with relevant members of your pharmacy team.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
**FAO LIVING WELL PHARMACIES ONLY**
Dear Contractor
SPPG have issued correspondenceon 22 September 2025 regarding the Living Well Service.
SUMMARY
The ‘Stay well this winter’ campaign will commence on 1 October 2025 and will run for two months.
The campaign aims to help the public prepare for the winter months by encouraging them to take actions to protect their health.
The campaign will include a brief intervention service based on the TARGET Antibiotic Checklist. Further details are available in the letter and the Service Specification and contract details are available here.
The posters, leaflets and campaign briefing for ‘Stay well this winter’ will be delivered by 25 September 2025, unless arranged otherwise.
If you have not received your campaign resource pack by 25 September 2025, please email reception.pha@hscni.net by no later than 8 October 2025 using the subject heading “LIVING WELL PHARMACY CAMPAIGN”. Note: This is for replacement and not additional supplies as resources for the campaign are limited.
Living Well posters should be displayed in at least one window unit of the pharmacy. Rotation of the supplied posters can occur over the campaign period.
PHA will release social media posts to support the campaign. Community pharmacies can share these on their social media channels, such as Facebook, X and Instagram, using the hashtags #LivingWell and #StayWellThisWinter
Training resources for this campaign are detailed in the campaign briefing.
A requirement for the Living Well service is to complete an online survey for each campaign. Further information on this can be found in the letter.
Living Well survey opening and closing dates have been added to the BSO 2025 calendar provided to all contractors.
Reminder: The third campaign for 25/26 ‘Move more, feel better‘ will finish on 30 September 2025. The survey for “Move more, feel better” will open 6 October 2025 at 9am and will close 3 November 2025 at 6pm.
ACTION
Contractors are asked to read the correspondence issued by SPPG on 22 September 2025 regarding the Living Well Service and share with all relevant members of the team.
Contractors wishing to participate in the TARGET brief intervention service are asked to review the Service Specification and Contract requirements available here.
Please contact CPNI offices if you have any questions in relation to this correspondence.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams.
CPNI has been contacted by Versus Arthritis NI regarding a range of free resources available online and in-person for patients with arthritis, chronic pain, and MSK Conditions. Resources include exercise classes, workshops, peer support groups, and days out. Further information, and booking is available by email: niservices@versusarthritis.org or phone: 028 9078 2940.
Community pharmacies, including those participating in the current Living Well campaign “Move more, feel better”, may wish to make patients aware of the free Versus Arthritis Chi Mi classes which are described in the flyer attached and can be booked online.
An information leaflet for Health Professionals is available here.
Extended Call for Pharmacy Technicians to Input into the Pharmacy Technician Regulation Project
The DoH Pharmacy Technician Regulation Project Group has extended the closing date for expressions of interest from Pharmacy Technicians to get involved and input into the development of a future career pathway for Pharmacy Technicians in all sectors in NI. The EOI will remain open until Wednesday 15 October 2025.
The majority of Technicians who have come forward to date are based in the Hospital sector, and therefore the project group would particularly welcome the involvement of more Community Pharmacy Technicians at all levels, such as trainee, newly qualified, experienced and those who work in specialist areas such as management and robotics.
The QR code for signing up and further details are included in the attached flyer.
Community pharmacies deliver a wide range of clinical advice, interventions, and consultations every day that extend far beyond commissioned services. Much of this vital work currently goes unrecorded and unfunded, despite the significant professional time and expertise it requires.
To help capture this activity, we have developed a Community Pharmacy Daily Interventions Survey. The purpose of this survey is to record the breadth of non-commissioned activity taking place in pharmacies, including patient presentations, referrals and phone call consultations. The data collected will provide robust evidence to demonstrate the important contribution of community pharmacy, highlight unmet needs, and support future funding and service development discussions. CPNI hope to share evidence from this survey with MLAs at the next All-Party Group on Community Pharmacy; this meeting is to provide a wider understanding of the role of community pharmacy teams, highlighting the extent and range of ‘unseen interventions’.
The intervention survey will run from Wednesday 24th September to Tuesday 30th September 2025, a period of one week that coincides with World Pharmacist Day on Thursday 25th September 2025.
ACTION
Pharmacy teams record interventions daily for ONE WEEK from Wednesday 24th September to Tuesday 30th September 2025 using the DAILY INTERVENTIONS LOG.
MULTIPLE copies of the daily intervention log can be used within each pharmacy each day.
At the END OF EACH DAY figures from EACH of the daily intervention logs should be COLLATED and inputted into the relevant section of the MASTER FORM.
ONE Master Form should then be submitted to CPNI per pharmacy at the end of the intervention survey. Please ensure you have inputted your CONTRACTOR NUMBER on the FIRST PAGE of the Master Form.
MASTER FORM RETURN: A copy of the Master Form has been developed as an EXCEL SPEADSHEET to allow pharmacies to collate their data and return to CPNI. Completed Master Forms should be emailed to info@communitypharmacyni.co.uk, the DEADLINE for submissions is Friday 3rd October 2025. We understand some contractors may not have access to Microsoft Excel therefore if they wish to submit a paper version of the Master Form this should be posted to Community Pharmacy NI, 5 Annadale Avenue, Belfast, BT7 3JH before Friday 3rd October 2025.
Any queries regarding the Community Pharmacy Daily Interventions Log, Master Form, Data collection or Master Form submission please contact the CPNI office on 028 9069 0444 or email info@communitypharmacyni.co.uk.
Your input is essential in ensuring that the true value of community pharmacy is recognised. We greatly appreciate your time and support in completing this important survey.
Thank you for your continued commitment to patient care and to the development of community pharmacy services.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
For the attention of Community Pharmacies wishing to provide the Autumn 2025 Community Pharmacy Vaccine Service (CPVS)
Dear Contractor
BSO have switched the Multi-Factor Authentication for VMS from the Belfast Trust Tenant to the HSCNI Tenant. You will be unable to access the Vaccine Management System (VMS) until a new Multi-Factor Authentication method has been set up for each account.
ACTION
Instructions in how to set up new Multi-Factor Authentication are linked here, please complete this process as soon as possible. There will be no change in how you access the Vaccine Management System, with the only noticeable difference being the Belfast Trust logo will be replaced by the HSCNI logo when signing in. If you encounter any issues completing the setup process please email Grainne.McMahon4@hscni.net, please attach a screengrab of the issue if applicable so it can be forwarded on to BSO IT for support.
REMINDER: VMS Passwords
Primary VMS Account: the password for VMS (under the Pharmacy.XXXX@hscni.net user account) is the same as your current password for the Portal. If you change the password for the Portal the VMS password will also change to match this.
Second VMS Account: All users have been provided with a second VMS login (under the Vaccine.XXXX@hscni.net user account) at the time of account setup. The password for this account is detailed in the original email that provided your VMS login details and cannot be changed. If you no longer have a record of the password for this account please contact Grainne.McMahon4@hscni.net.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
WhatsApp Business Terms of Service can be found here and privacy policy hereUCA-NI Privacy Policy We take your privacy seriously and do not share or sell any personal details with third parties for commercial purposes. If you have any questions, please contact the CPNI office. You can withdraw your consent to be contacted at any time by calling 028 9069 0444 or by emailing info@communitypharmacyni.co.uk. CPNI Data Protection Policy and Data Retention policy can be found Click Here
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