Chronic Underfunding in the Northern Ireland Community Pharmacy Sector Raised Directly with UK Government
A delegation has travelled to London to seek UK Government NIO Minister Fleur Anderson MP’s support for vital community pharmacy services that are in financial crisis and at risk of collapse in Northern Ireland.
Representatives from Community Pharmacy NI (CPNI), including local pharmacy owners were led by Ulster Unionist peer Lord Rogan as they met the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to seek stabilisation of the community pharmacy network. Further information is available at the link below:
Reminder: Any contractor who has yet to submit the MS forms relating to the refresh of handheld scanners to SPPG, still have an opportunity to do so. If a pharmacy or Head Office has not received SPPG correspondence to their secure email address regarding this, please contact local integrated care offices.
Dear Contractor
SUMMARY
SPPG have issued correspondence regarding the refresh of handheld barcode scanners within community pharmacy. Each Head Office/pharmacy should now have received an email from SPPG which includes a Microsoft Forms link to complete. This should be submitted by Friday 6th December 2024.
ACTION
Please check that you have received this correspondence from SPPG and that you submit the information requested in the MS forms link by the deadline stated.
Please do not hesitate to contact CPNI if you require any further information.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
REMINDER: Contractors who are providing the Pharmacy First Service for Sore Throat Winter 24/25 must submit a contract to SPPG in order to be paid for the service.
Dear Contractor
Correspondence has been issued 13 November 2024 regarding the Pharmacy First Service for Sore Throat.
SUMMARY
The Pharmacy First Sore Throat Service will launch on 1 December 2024 for two months initially.
Pharmacy contractors meeting the service specification are eligible to offer the service and must submit an electronic contract to notify SPPG of the intention to provide the service.
NB there is no requirement to return a signed copy of the contract.
Pharmacies that provided the pilot service last year should familiarise themselves with the revised service specification and guidance and must submit a new contract to provide the service for Winter 24/25.
Live training was provided at an ECHO session which has been recorded and is now available to view on the ECHO Moodle site for those unable to attend the live session.
For any issues with accessing the training please contact Elaine Kane at e.kane@hospiceuk.org or 02895582393.
A copy of the presentation slides are available at the BSO website.
All resources in relation to the service including promotional material will be available on the BSO website. Service posters will be provided by SPPG and should be displayed in the pharmacy.
The fees payable to pharmacy contractors for this service are:
A one-off service set-up payment of £200 per pharmacy contractor.
A consultation fee of £32 per consultation. This includes the cost of RADTs and other consumables.
The cost of the medicine supplied will be reimbursed on submission of prescriptions or pharmacy vouchers to BSO.
ACTION
Contractors are asked to read the correspondence issued by SPPG regarding the Pharmacy First Service for Sore Throat Winter 2024/25 and share with all relevant members of the team.
Those pharmacy contractors who have applied to offer the Pharmacy First Sore Throat Service are requested to return an electronic contract using the following link.
Please contact your Pharmacy Advisor if you have any queries regarding this letter.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
SPPG issued correspondence today providing updates on the governance arrangements in place for community pharmacist IP prescribing ciphers and prescription pads.
SUMMARY
The SPPG letter outlines an updated process by which community pharmacist IPs can apply for a HS21 prescription cipher and pad.
Information is also provided on the process to be followed for deactivation and prescription security.
The letter provides clarification on the use of community pharmacist IP HS21 prescriptions.
ACTION
Contractors are advised to:
Review the correspondence and share with relevant members of the pharmacy team.
Should you have any queries please contact a member of the CPNI team.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
SPPG issued correspondence today to community pharmacies informing that all community pharmacist NIECR access accounts were reactivated on 29 November 2024.
SUMMARY
The NIECR team noted a high volume of Community Pharmacist NIECR accounts were deactivated.
NIECR accounts automatically deactivate after 90 days of inactivity.
All deactivated community pharmacist accounts were reactivated on the 29th November.
Pharmacists can log in to their NIECR account regularly to prevent deactivation from occurring.
The NIECR team advise that there is no requirement to access a patient record in order to remain active.
Login issues can be raised using the vFire link contained within the HSCNI Portal.
Requests for password resets/reactivation of accounts take on average 1 day to be actioned by the NIECR team.
The Community Pharmacy NIECR – FAQ Document is available here.
Review the correspondence and share with relevant members of the pharmacy team.
Should you have any queries please contact a member of the CPNI team.
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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