Northern Ireland’s Chief Pharmaceutical Officer issued correspondence today to community pharmacy contractors advising of proposed arrangements for the Foundation Training Year (FTY) Programme for 2025/26. The proposed arrangements will be discussed by the CPNI Board of Directors at their meeting on 15th December, and contractors will be provided with an update thereafter.
SUMMARY
Contractors should note that:
Discussions have been ongoing for some time between the Department, CPNI and other relevant stakeholders in relation to the arrangements for the FTY programme 2025/26.
Throughout these discussions CPNI have impressed upon the Department, the essential role that community pharmacy teams play in training the pharmacists of the future, and accordingly, the need for clarity so that preparation can be made for the 2025/26 cohort.
As the standards for the FTY programme for 2025/26 have been updated to align with the revised GPhC/PSNI standards for Initial Education and Training, an essential element of the FTY programme will now include training each FTY pharmacist to also become an independent prescriber (IP).
IP training requires each FTY pharmacist in the 2025/26 programme to spend a period of time in a setting where they have the opportunity to develop prescribing skills under the direction of a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP).
As the majority of community pharmacies are not yet in a position to provide all elements of these IP training requirements for 2025/26, the DoH has had to explore options to facilitate the IP component of training by allocating FTY pharmacists to a hospital setting for part of their training.
The current proposal outlined in the CPO’s letter, is that funding will be provided for 200 FTY pharmacists to undertake FTY placements in NI, and each will spend 6 months in a community pharmacy setting and 6 months in a hospital setting.
Note: CPNI is fully aware that these 2025/26 proposals represent a significant change from the current FTY programme. As such CPNI will review the proposal, and this will be discussed by the Board of Directors at their meeting on 15th December.
Note: CPNI continues to liaise with the Department to increase the availability of, and access to, IP training for community pharmacists, as well as increasing the number of prescribing services provided in community pharmacy. CPNI are of the firm opinion that these steps will be essential enablers to ensure future FTY cohorts can complete their full training in the community pharmacy setting.
ACTION
Contractors:
Should read the CPO correspondence and share with relevant members of the pharmacy team.
Should note that the CPNI Board of Directors will provide further information to the network following discussion at their 15th December meeting.
May wish to continue to engage with and take details from prospective 2025/26 FTY recruits, while explaining that aspects of the programme are yet to be clarified, with further details expected in early 2024.
Contractors may contact the CPNI team should they have any queries.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
Further to Contractor Update (CPNI CU#231124B: Update on Meeting with Permanent Secretary) issued 24 November 2023, contractors will now have received their BSO Pharmaceutical Prescription Payment Summary Report. The payment will be made on the last working day of November 2023 and relates to prescriptions dispensed in October 2023.
Under the “Ingredient Costs” heading on page 1 there is a line stating “Discount @ X%”. The amount of money detailed in the adjacent columns is the Discount normally deducted from your drugs ingredient cost by BSO. Following the agreement reached with CPNI last week, BSO will not be deducting the amount stated under the ‘Total’ heading from your BSO payment at the end of November 2023.
Under the “Adjustments” heading on page 5 there is a line stating “Two-month Cessation of Discount Clawback” – this should equal the ‘Total’ amount referred to in the paragraph above.
The agreement to suspend the discount deducted from your ingredient cost is for two months so your BSO report for the December 2023 payment will be constructed in the same way.
This is a welcome intervention at this time and CPNI will continue to work on behalf of contractors to find longer term solutions that support the development of community pharmacy in Northern Ireland.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams.
Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF Gerard Greene Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
You will be aware from a previous Contractor Update (CPNI CU#231116A: Funding Difficulties and Category-M Drug Tariff Price Reductions [Oct’23]) that CPNI had an urgent meeting with the Permanent Secretary on Tuesday 21 November 2023. CPNI outlined the severe pressures facing the sector and the further impact that the October 2023 Drug Tariff changes would have on contractors going forward. The Permanent Secretary listened to our concerns and sought further information from us at the meeting on the issues we raised. CPNI had proposed to the Permanent Secretary that, in the absence of additional investment being available, funding elements should not be removed from the community pharmacy economy at this critical time. The Permanent Secretary agreed to consider our position and he subsequently wrote to CPNI.
CPNI Board held an emergency meeting yesterday afternoon to consider the Permanent Secretary’s letter and following an exchange of correspondence I can confirm that the deduction of clawback from contractor BSO payments has been suspended for two months with immediate effect. There will be no clawback deducted from the November 2023 or December 2023 BSO payments. BSO has confirmed that this equates to £2.379m for the month of November and it is expected that a similar quantum of funding will be retained by community pharmacies for the month of December. The Permanent Secretary also advised that SPPG will take forward proposals previously received to revise discount scale arrangements – CPNI had previously stated, and then again in correspondence to the Permanent Secretary this week, that it could not agree to the proposals.
The suspension of clawback, although only for two months, is a welcome intervention at this time and the Permanent Secretary’s role in that is acknowledged.
CPNI will continue to work with the Department to find further solutions that help with the development of community pharmacy in Northern Ireland.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
The second update of concessionary prices were granted today for November 2023:
Drug
Pack Size
Concessionary Price
Benzoyl peroxide 5% / Clindamycin 1% gel
60
£22.15
Clotrimazole 1% cream
50
£3.95
Co-codamol 15mg/500mg tablets
100
£2.83
Cyclizine 50mg/1ml solution for injection ampoules
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