Information for Pharmacies across West Yorkshire

 

 

West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership 

The latest update from the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership is a vlog from Rob Webster, CEO Lead for West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership and CEO of South West Yorkshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/Xg0Q0ZGZrrI.

 

 

Monitored Dosage Systems (MDS) 

Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire is experiencing a high volume of queries from both community pharmacies and GP practice teams about Monitored Dosage Systems (MDS). 

The decision to supply a MDS is that of the pharmacy; not the prescriber, patient or carer.  The pharmacy should carry out an individual patient assessment to check if they are eligible for a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010. 

Pharmacies are not obliged to dispense free MDS for patient, carer or prescriber convenience or to help improve compliance for patients who do not otherwise qualify under the Equality Act 2010.  Care should be taken when communicating the decision to not provide an MDS to a patient, carer or prescriber.  The pharmacy should ensure it outlines that an assessment has been undertaken and the patient does not qualify. The capacity of the pharmacy to fill MDS cannot be used as a reason for non-supply of a MDS. 

Further information can be found on our website and the PSNC website: 

• http://www.cpwy.org/pharmacy-contracts-services/essential-services/dispensing.shtml 

• https://psnc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/PSNC-Briefing-060.17-Equality-Act-2010-A-quick-reference-guide-Sep-2017-update.pdf 

• https://psnc.org.uk/contract-it/pharmacy-regulation/dda/

 

 

Pre-Acceptance Waste Audit 

Pharmacies are reminded that they are legally required by the Environment Agency to complete a pre-acceptance waste audit.  Waste contractors will be unable to collect waste from a pharmacy until they are satisfied that an audit has been carried out to identify the waste streams and so that it can ensure appropriate disposal. 

This requirement is detailed in the document 07-01 Safe Management of Healthcare Waste, available from the Department of Health and Social Care. Pages 170-184 apply specifically to community pharmacy, and pharmacy contractors will find references to the pre-acceptance audits elsewhere in the document. 

There is a pre-acceptance waste audit tool available on the PSNC website: https://psnc.org.uk/services-commissioning/essential-services/disposal-of-unwanted-medicines/pre-acceptance-waste-audit/.

Online Audit Tool Guide 

This tool is designed to support a practical audit which will allow pharmacies to identify all waste streams in their pharmacy, including patient returned medicines and waste produced by the pharmacy. The use of this particular tool is not mandatory.  Once the audit has been completed it should be sent to your waste contractor. 

Note: Pharmacy contractors should be aware that waste contractors will not be able to collect waste from community pharmacies who haven’t submitted a pre-acceptance audit.

 

 

Medicines for Minor Conditions No Longer Generally Available on Prescription 

Both Calderdale and Bradford CCGs are currently adopting new guidance set out by NHS England on conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care – see here. 

This means that for many minor illnesses or self-limiting conditions, medicines which are available over the counter will no longer be routinely prescribed. 

Calderdale have recently written out to all pharmacies (letter can be accessed here) asking for support with helping patients and the public understand the changes and to only sign post patients to their GP practice to obtain a prescription if an exception applies, or when they cannot purchase the medication OTC due to the licensing restriction for the product for the conditions covered in this guidance. (See here for a full list of conditions and general exemptions) 

Further information is available on the Calderdale CCG website here. 

It is expected that the NHS England guidance on conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care will start to be implemented by all West Yorkshire CCGs over the next few months.

 

 

Cryotherapy No Longer Supported as a Treatment for Warts in Bradford 

We have been asked to let our community pharmacy teams know that cryotherapy is no longer supported or funded as a treatment for warts and patients should not be advised to see their GP about this. The exception is patients who are immunocompromised with severe warts, who can be referred to a dermatology service or where the wart is cosmetically unsightly (e.g. on the face). 

Warts are generally harmless and tend to go away on their own eventually. Alternatively, several treatments can be purchased OTC to get rid of them more quickly.

 

 

NHS Choices rebranded simply as ‘the NHS website’ 

The NHS Choices name is to go as part of changes to the UK’s largest health website by NHS England and NHS Digital. These include more accessible content, better mobile device experience, new content for helping people to manage long-terms conditions, and improved page design.

The NHS Choices logo will disappear but the web address remains the same, www.nhs.uk.  When signposting patients to the website please refer to NHS Choices to “the NHS website” rather than NHS Choices when possible.

 

 

Calderdale - Improving Access to General Practice with Evening, Weekend and Bank Holiday Appointments 

GP practices across Calderdale are working collaboratively to offer patients increased access to routine appointments with GPs, nurses and other healthcare professionals from locality based hubs. 

This service provides all Calderdale registered patients access to pre-bookable routine appointments from 6:30pm – 8:00pm Monday to Friday, weekend appointments from 10:00am – 2:00pm Saturday and Sunday. Appointments are also available between 10:00am – 11:30am on Bank Holidays. These appointments can be booked in advance or on the same day for a routine medical matter, subject to availability and the reason for your appointment. 

Patients wishing to book these appointments should contact their registered practice by phone or in person. 

Further details (including a poster) can be found here: https://penninegpa.co.uk/our-services/.

 

 

For the Attention of Wakefield Pharmacies - Are You Interested in Providing a Level 2 Stop Smoking Service? 

Yorkshire Smokefree Wakefield have recently sent out a letter about training which they are offering to become a Level 2 accredited stop smoking advisor. Please see here. 

If any member of your pharmacy team is interested in training to become a Level 2 accredited stop smoking advisor and providing a Stop Smoking Level 2 service please refer to the letter and register your interest by emailing lisa.allen@swyt.nhs.uk or by telephone on 01924 252174 and you will be sent a full copy of the terms and conditions and an application form to attend the training. 

The face to face training will be provided on Wednesday 17^th October 2018 and ultimately leads to becoming an accredited advisor (there are further training requirements in addition to attending this day; refer to letter). Once the training is completed you can sign up to be part of the Yorkshire Smokefree Wakefield commissioned service and receive payment for any work that you do. The payment schedule is also set out in the letter.

 

 

New Virtual Outcomes e-Learning - Revalidation for Pharmacy Professionals – GPhC 

Have you yet to start your revalidation journey?  Revalidation started in April 2018 and pharmacy professionals will need ensure they are ready to submit their records for this year’s registration renewal. 

Just 13 minutes of your time will give you a helpful and reassuring summary of the revalidation process from a community pharmacist.  This is the latest module available on the Virtual Outcomes e-Learning platform. 

This Revalidation module includes:

• What revalidation means for Pharmacy Professionals
• Recognising the differences between CPD and revalidation
• What you need to do to meet the requirements for revalidation
• An outline of the materials available to support you with revalidation 

Further information can be found on the flyer and links below: 

GPhC Revalidation Online Engagement Training Flyer 

• https://www.virtualoutcomes.co.uk/pharmacy-training/
• https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/revalidation

 

 

Virtual Outcomes e-Learning: Flu Vaccinations Programme Engagement 

The 2018 Flu season is upon us and you may well be contacted by patients wanting a vaccination. For the latest updates on how to engage people with the Flu Vaccination service this year please make sure you and your colleagues have a look at the recent module from Virtual Outcomes. 

This is a great summary of the changes for this year’s service and the key messages that you and your colleagues will need to know.  More information can be found here https://www.virtualoutcomes.co.uk/pharmacy-training/ or on the flyer here.

 

 

Stoptober – Change to Distribution - Please order a pack today! 

This year pharmacies must order Stoptober packs from the Public Health England Resource centre. Please note pharmacies will not receive any Stoptober materials unless they order them. 

A specific Stoptober pack for pharmacies is now available to order from Public Health England, while stocks last so please order as soon as possible. To order a pack please follow this link: https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/6-stoptober/resources/4010, or call PHE resources line on 0300 123 1019.

 

 

Heart Age Tool Campaign 

To increase awareness of heart health and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, pharmacies are being asked to encourage adults to complete the new One You Heart Age Test and get a free blood pressure reading.  

The Heart Age Test will let users know how old their heart is (in comparison to their physical age) in under three minutes.  It also provides them with tips on how they can lower their heart age as well as ways to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke. 

To order the pharmacy pack please visit the Public Health England website here: https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/78/resources/3996 or call the Public Health England order line on 0300 123 1019.

 

 

Champ Study Workshop – A New Way of Talking about Alcohol in Medicines Use Reviews (MURs) 

The University of York are looking for pharmacists who conduct MURs to help researchers explore the acceptability and feasibility of a new intervention and how it can be improved.  More information can be found in the flyers below. 

Champ Study Workshop Flyer

Pharmacist Co-Design Workshop Summary 

Locum time and travel expenses paid for participation in the workshop.  The workshop is taking place on:  Thursday 27th September 2018, 1- 4pm, York City Centre Venue 

For further details, please contact Duncan Stewart: duncan.stewart@york.ac.uk or 01904 321860.

 

 

Training and Development

 

 

Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire Events

 

 

Shingles Training Event – Places Still Available! 

Places are still available on the next series of Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire Development Academy events.  These events are being run in collaboration with Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited.   Events are being held on: 

• Thursday 20th September 2018 - Holiday Inn, Brighouse
• Wednesday 3rd October 2018 - Village Hotel, Leeds North
• Thursday 18th October 2018 - Holiday Inn, Wakefield 

Events begin at 7.15pm and end by 8.45pm.  Food will be available from 6.30pm. You are able to attend any of these events if you work within the Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire area. For more information and to access booking forms, please see our website here: http://www.cpwy.org/training-development/events.shtml#shinglesevent.

 

 

Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire e-Learning 

As you are aware Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire is working with Virtual Outcomes to deliver a series of online training events throughout the year which are now available to all community pharmacies in West Yorkshire. 

The latest e-Learning module is GPhC Revalidation Online Engagement Training! 

This module is to support GPhC registrants with revalidation.  The online course will enable you to: 

• Understand what revalidation means for Pharmacy Professionals
• Recognise the differences between CPD and revalidation
• Understand what you need to do to meet the requirements for revalidation
• Have an awareness of the materials available to support with revalidation 

This module can be accessed from Monday 3rd September 2018.  If you are interested or would like some more information, please see the flyer below, or visit our website here: http://www.cpwy.org/training-development/e-learning.shtml. 

GPhC Revalidation Online Engagement Training Flyer

 

 

NHS Flu Vaccination: Free Online Engagement Training – Updated to Include 2018 Service Changes 

Please note this training is not the practical vaccination training required by the NHS service specification.  Details of practical vaccination training providers can be found on PSNC website: https://psnc.org.uk/services-commissioning/advanced-services/flu-vaccination-service/flu-vaccination-training/ 

This training has been updated to include the 2018 service changes. 

To get a head start in preparation for this years flu service, have a look at this e-Learning module available on our Virtual Outcomes platform.  This is a good summary of the basics that everyone in your team will benefit from knowing. 

This module is now available to access.  For more information, please see our website: http://www.cpwy.org/training-development/e-learning.shtml. 

Previous training topics like Blood in Pee, Get Ready for Summer, Type 2 Diabetes, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Mental Health are still available to access.

 

 

External Events 

The following external events are still open to bookings!  Please follow the links below for more information on the events and to how to book a place. 

• Accuracy Checking Pharmacy Technician (ACPT) Programme

• Mary Seacole Leadership Programme Funded for Community Pharmacy Professionals

 

 

CPPE Events 

Details of other events being held by CPPE in the West Yorkshire area are on our website, click here.

 

 

CPWY Connect 

A new group, CPWY Connect, has been set up on the social media site Telegram with the aim of connecting pharmacy teams across West Yorkshire and we’d love you to join.   Just follow the link below to join and you will be directed to download the app.  https://t.me/joinchat/EhzBmw4XmrS1d8OD_0WLFQ 

CPWY Connect provides a quick and easy way for you to communicate with committee members and colleagues across our region and develop a peer support network.  Working in community pharmacy can sometimes feel a little isolating and we think it is important for us all to forge stronger links to make the pharmacy network in West Yorkshire a strong and supportive one.

 

 

PSNC Communications 

Sign up to the PSNC Mailing List to ensure you receive the weekly newsletters, alerts and updates here: http://psnc.org.uk/latest-news/email-sign-up/.