Updated COVID-19 SOP

NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I)  issued an updated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for community pharmacies in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A key amendment enables regional NHSE&I teams to notify pharmacies that they may work behind closed doors without the need for contractors to apply for such closed-door working. This change has been made to help healthcare bodies to tailor their response to the pandemic dependent on the local or regional situation. NHSE&I will consult with LPCs.

Full information on key changes to the SOP are highlighted clearly in yellow on the updated, published SOP and further information is available on the PSNC website.

All businesses and NHS providers, including community pharmacy contractors, need to have an ability to cope with emergency situations, so that wherever possible, they can continue to provide services to patients and the public therefore ensure you update your Business Continuity Plan 

GPHC has confirmed where no locum cover can be secured at the pharmacy, and recognising the potential effects of the current pandemic, it would be in the patient’s best interest for medicines already dispensed to be supplied from the pharmacy. They have also relaxed the inspection process. Please see full details on the GPHC website.

Community pharmacy security

The Metropolitan police has issued guidance specifically for community pharmacy premises offering advice on security of premises, and safety and well-being of staff and customers during the pandemic.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have contacted all community pharmacies to notify them that the suppliers identified below have agreed to provide an Occupational Health service provision to support the COVID 19 risk assessment onward referral for staff in the high-risk categories working in primary care. This service is currently available from 1 September to 31 December 2020.

All suppliers are offering either telephone or video conference referral appointments. We have been asked to advise you of the following information should you wish to refer a member of staff for support following the outcome of their individual risk assessment.

• Contact the preferred provider to register as a customer on their referral portal.
• Be advised of costs associated with either the Occupational Health Nurse or Physician appointment which will include an advisory report
• During the registration process you will be asked to provide a purchase order number or billing details as the employer responsible for payment. Occupational Health services made available to primary care colleagues in support of their employees are funded by the employer.
• Referrals will normally be seen within 10 working days.

You will be advised during the registration process of any additional steps you need to undertake to ensure your colleagues are seen as soon as possible.

The list of preferred suppliers that can be contacted for support are:

COPE Occupational Health – Tel: 0115 925 9222
Management referral with Occupational Health Advisor
Management referrals with Occupational Health Physician

Health work – Tel: 0161 831 9701/ Email: admin@healthworkltd.com
Management referral with Occupational Health Advisor
Management referral with Occupational Health Physician

OHRD – Phone: 028 9026 8460/ Email: admin@ohrd.net
Management referral with Occupational Health Advisor
Management referral with Occupational Health Physician

We recognise that some organisations have already put in place arrangements to provide Occupational Health support for colleagues and there is no requirement to use any of those named above.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked each supplier to report on monthly usage.  Please be assured that no patient/staff member identifiable information will be included in the report and we will be working within the required Information Governance guidelines.

If you have any questions, please contact england.pharmacyeast@nhs.net.

This is a very fast moving area and we will update new information here as soon as it becomes available.

Update from NHSE&I – Pharmacy Covid-19 Vaccination LES and Guidance

Following a positive Government update on progress to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, the NHS has released documentation to help GP practices prepare for a potential vaccination programme.

In a letter to GP practices, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) stated that “PCN partners in community services or community pharmacy may be able to support delivery”. PSNC is in discussions with officials about how the community pharmacy sector will be involved and we will provide further information as soon as we are able.

The characteristics of the COVID-19 vaccines – including initial storage requirements at very low temperatures and the way they will be supplied to the NHS – have implications for how the COVID vaccination programme will be organised and the scale of the sites used. This means the programme will work very differently to flu vaccination.

Further information will be released as soon as it is available but, in the meantime, contractors should be aware that the rollout will be coordinated by the NHS at a local level and that GPs and pharmacies will need to work together to make this work for their communities.

Contractors can also be assured that PSNC has stressed that community pharmacy teams must be vaccinated alongside all other health and social care professionals: NHSE&I has now confirmed to us that this will be the case.

For full information on the regulatory and contractual requirements of opening hours for pharmacies during the current period please refer to the PSNC website.

Please remember that you must inform the DOS when the pharmacy is closed and the best way to do this is to use the DOS Profile Updater. If you have any problems with using the DOS Profile Updater please email the DOS team.

PharmOutcomes has developed a reporting template allowing pharmacies to record their operational status. This will allow pharmacies to record the level at which they are operating against a Red, Amber and Green traffic light system and provide feedback to LPC leads and Head Offices about the challenges they are facing. For sites recording an Amber status, the template allows a pharmacy to record and feedback details of their operational challenges and also provide information on planned closures, in line with the revised COVID-19 SOP. For pharmacies faced with no alternative other than to close, i.e. recording a RED status,  all information recorded and saved will prepopulate a form that can be printed when data is saved. This form can then be emailed to the East NHS England and Improvement (NHSE&I) office to inform them of the closure.

The PharmOutcomes template would be very useful for the LPC to help monitor service delivery and support you better and we recommend that you use this template going forward to record your operational service where possible.

Face coverings are now compulsory for retail staff
From Thursday 24 September 2020, it becomes compulsory for community pharmacy staff to wear a face covering in areas that are open to the public and where they come, or are likely to come, within close contact of a member of the public.

However, there is existing Public Health England guidance on the wearing of face masks in community pharmacy, for staff in both clinical and non-clinical roles, which is applicable to all primary and community health care providers in England. Further details can be found on the PSNC website.

All COVID-19 PPE now available via portal
The Government’s PPE portal can now be used by community pharmacies to obtain all the COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) they need; the supplies will be provided free of charge.
Community pharmacies will have received an email invitation to register to access the service, which will have been sent to their NHSmail shared mailbox.  If you cannot find the email, you can still create an account by visiting the portal and using your NHSmail shared mailbox email address to register.
Visit the portal
Pharmacies can use the portal to meet the extra need for PPE that has arisen as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. You should not use the portal to order PPE for non-COVID-19 requirements; this should be ordered through your normal supply channels. Further details can be found on the PSNC website.

PSNC has updated its guidance on NHS Test and Trace based on recent discussions between NHS England & NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) and Public Health England (PHE).

These discussions have indicated that contractors should, in particular:

• Ensure the PHE Local Health Protection Team consider community pharmacy contact tracing cases. If the local team don’t make the initial contact with the pharmacy, contractors should escalate cases to the team, or call the team direct. This may not be necessary if a contractor is satisfied with the decision without full assessment.
• Ask pharmacy staff NOT to give their colleagues’ names to NHS Test and Trace if they test positive for coronavirus, but to provide the contact details of the pharmacy. This is because any names given will be entered automatically into NHS Test and Trace systems with no assessment of whether they are close contacts – this is difficult for the local health protection team to ‘overturn’ if its assessment finds that pharmacy colleagues are not close contacts of the individual.
• Continue to take all appropriate steps to make the pharmacy COVID-secure, so far as practicable, including social distancing, the proper use (donning and doffing) of appropriate PPE, but recognise that if one staff member tests positive, sometimes other staff may still be close contacts and asked to self-isolate depending on the PHE Local Health Protection Team assessment

NHS COVID-19 app: QR code posters optional for community pharmacy
The long-awaited NHS COVID-19 app is launched on 24 September 2020. It will be heavily promoted to members of the public, as the Government sees this as a vital part of the NHS Test and Trace service in England. The Government is encouraging businesses and organisations, such as hospitality services, to display official NHS QR code posters at their venue entrances to help support contact tracing. Community pharmacies are not required to display NHS QR code posters but may do so, according to Government advice. Further details can be found on the PSNC website.

A joint letter from the Competition and Markets Authority and the General Pharmaceutical Council regarding pricing during the COVID-19 pandemic has been sent to all pharmacies regarding a small minority of pharmacies seeking to benefit from the coronavirus pandemic by charging unjustifiably high prices for essential products.

Nationally the key actions that pharmacy teams are advised to undertake during the pandemic are as follows:

1. Read the NHSE&I guidance whenever it is updated and implement its recommended actions;
2. Clearly display the COVID-19 poster at points of entry to your pharmacy;
3. Implement your business continuity plan where required and seek assistance and advice from your Local Pharmaceutical Committee;
4. Keep up to date with developments by regularly checking the information on  COVID-19 on GOV.UK, the NHSE&I Coronavirus Primary Care webpage and checking your NHSmail shared mailbox on a regular basis for updates from NHSE&I; and
5. Where possible, display the public health advice posters on hand washing, social distancing etc.

Please note all changes to the CPCF during Covid-19 can be found here

A wealth of useful and practical information is available from the following key organisations on their websites:

• Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (NB there are a number of useful FAQs here)
• General Pharmaceutical Council
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• National Pharmacy Association

The GPhC has published and will continue to publish new standards in their knowledge hub that helpfully clarifies some of the key areas for COVID-19 that may be causing you queries such as working with other pharmacies and volunteer groups. The standards will continue to be updated with new areas as and when they arise. This can be found on the knowledge hub of the GPhC website.