| Weekly News Digest - 12th December 2024 |
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| The LPC recently secured a 50% increase in remuneration of the EHC Service across East Berkshire (Pharmacies within Bracknell, Slough and RBWM). Requests for Pharmacies to take part in this very important service were recently sent out, but responses have been low. We realise how busy how you all are that this time of year, but would appreciate a high level of participation from those Community Pharmacies in East Berkshire. See here for service specification and PGDs. |
| Public Health Oxfordshire County Council invites Oxfordshire-based community pharmacies to sign up for the Take-home Naloxone Service. With potent synthetic opioids, like nitazenes, appearing more frequently in local drug supplies, it's crucial to expand access to take-home naloxone. Evidence shows that naloxone can effectively reverse the effects of these potent synthetic opioids, making it essential for those at risk but not in contact with treatment. Full details of this service are available in the attached service specification. For any questions or to sign up, please contact Ify Enemuo at Ify.Enemuo@Oxfordshire.gov.uk or call 07554 103332. |
| Attached are the Christmas & New Year 2024-25 Bank Holiday Posters, detailing which pharmacies will be open across the Southeast of England. The posters include opening hours and list only those pharmacies that are open on one or more Bank Holiday dates. Additionally, a map showing the pharmacies open on the Bank Holidays is available at the following link. Please share this information with your teams. Click here. |
| Please ensure that your DoS and NHS.UK profiles are updated for the upcoming Bank Holiday dates over Christmas and New year. This can be done via the NHS Profile Manager. Useful NHS Profile Manager Tutorials are available here. |
As children return to schools and nurseries after the half-term break and prepare for the festive season, it's a great time to remind parents and carers about the Pharmacy First service. Community Pharmacy England have published new resources to support pharmacy owners, their teams, and LPCs engage with schools and nurseries. These include a Pharmacy First checklist, template emails/letters, and news stories for promoting the service. All resources are available on CPE's Pharmacy First webpage.
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| Joshua Reynolds MP and Cllr Catherine Del Campo recently visited, Corrin McParland of HA McParland, one of our dedicated Community Pharmacies in Shifford Crescent, Maidenhead. The visit provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the urgent need for adequate funding, address supply chain challenges, and explore the potential for delivering quality healthcare services to benefit the local community. |
Paul Atenam, Kamsons Pharmacy, was delighted to welcome Peter Swallow, MP to visit their pharmacy in Bracknell. The visit focused on discussing the urgent need for adequate funding in Community Pharmacy, addressing supply chain solutions, and exploring opportunities to deliver more healthcare services for his constituents.
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| Read the latest updated Government restrictions on use of puberty suppressing hormones (puberty blockers): information for prescribers and pharmacists / dispensing doctors. Click here. |
| DHSC has advised that due to rising flu levels, primary care prescribers can now prescribe and community pharmacists can supply antiviral medicines (oseltamivir and zanamivir) at NHS expense, following NICE guidance and the Selected List Scheme (SLS). Prescribers should endorse prescriptions for clinical at-risk groups and those at risk of severe flu complications with SLS. Community pharmacies must ensure prescriptions for these antivirals are endorsed SLS by the prescriber, as pharmacy staff cannot do this. Click here . |
From December 2024, NHS England will extend the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) to Detained Estate healthcare services. This allows prison prescribers to issue EPS 'To Take Out' (TTO) and urgent prescriptions electronically, removing the need for paper FP10 forms. Most released prisoners will have their current medications and may only need to collect EPS prescriptions post-release, often from pharmacies far from the prison due to the distance from their homes. Click here.
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| Community Pharmacy England have set out recommendations to support ongoing use of your smartcard. They have produced a guide: Maintaining your NHS Smartcard factsheet. See here for full information. |
| Visit our website to view a very useful webinar detailing the acute sinusitus clinical pathway. |
As part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (25 November to 10 December 2024), NHS England is highlighting the importance of NHS sexual assault referral centres (SARCs). Attached is a briefing note with more details about SARCs. Please keep this for reference and share it with your team to ensure they are informed about these important services.
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UK SAYS NO MORE is working with pharmacies and across the UK to provide Safe Spaces in their consultation rooms for people experiencing domestic abuse. Use this link to Register for Safe Space. For more information click here. |
| Read the latest edition of Healthwatch Oxfordshire newsletter here. |
| Download the latest edition of BOB Medicines Optimisation Bulletin newsletter here. |
| The revised threshold for December is 20 clinical pathway consultations. Please remember that you only have 3 months to submit a claim after consultation, ie for December 2024 the last date is 5th March 2025. |
| NHS England is seeking ideas to cut bureaucracy through the ‘Red Tape Challenge". The focus is on improving referrals, patient discharge, and service communication. Feedback can be submitted via a survey or email by 16 December 2024 to help improve operations and shape the 10 Year Health Plan. Click here. |
| The deadline for completing the NHS England questionnaire on central procurement of flu vaccinations is 17th December 2024 if you wish to complete the questionnaire see here for more information. |
| Pharmacy teams providing Pharmacy First are asked to help promote the survey. Please encourage as many responses as possible, the survey has been designed to be quick and easy to complete; during testing, most patients took around two minutes to complete it. Please promote the survey using the provided resources. |
| The government is developing a 10-year health plan and wants to hear from you. Your insights and expertise are essential to shaping an NHS that meets future needs. Share your thoughts and feedback at change.nhs.uk. |
Join the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS) Workshop. The workshop aims to support learners in shared decision-making for starting, restarting, or changing contraception within PCS, enhancing their consultation and communication skills. By completing the program, learners will be able to utilize person-centred consultation skills, assess the suitability of oral contraception based on individual needs, discuss contraception options for informed decisions, provide information on long-acting reversible contraceptives, and address concerns or side effects related to contraception. The event will be held on:
Sunday, 19th January 2025
10:30am -12:30pm
at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Business Centre, Cookham, Maidenhead.
Don't miss out, reserve your place here using the booking code PcsCPTV0125 (case sensitive). Don't miss the postworkshop webinar for further insights for further information see here. Book your place now on the CPPE website. |
| These online sessions cover how NHSBSA handles submissions, common errors, and tips on endorsing prescriptions to prevent payment errors. The next webinar will be held on Thursday 12 December 2024 at 10:00am, to register email NHSBSA at open-days@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. Please visit the CPTV website for further webinar dates and times. |
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