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GMLPC newsletter, highlighting the latest news, training & alerts for pharmacy contractors across Greater Manchester.
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Weekly news

8th July 2020
 

This week's newsletter will cover the following topics: 

 
  • PSNC Audit Reminder 
  • Updated Guidance for Shielded Patients 
  • Pharmacy Opening Hours – Update   
  • Oldham – Emergency Hormone Contraception update 
  • TCAM Update for Greater Manchester   
  • Reminders: PPE Survey, National and Local COVID Testing 
  • Joint letter from the GPhC and the Competition and Markets Authority on Pricing 
  • Drug Notifications 
  • External Information and Resources 
 
Please scroll down for more information 
Important Notifications

PSNC Pharmacy Advice Audit: Please submit your data 

 

Community pharmacy teams have until 10th July 2020 to capture information about the advice they give to their patients and local communities. 

Action for contractors: Please submit your data to PSNC via PharmOutcomes before 10th July 2020.  
 

Last week pharmacies were encouraged to undertake the PSNC Pharmacy Advice Audit to capture information about the advice they give to their patients and local communities. 
 
The data gathered will help demonstrate the added value pharmacies offer and assist in providing evidence to support the ongoing funding negotiations, including the call for more investment in the sector. 
 
PSNC has had an exceptional response to the audit so far: thank you to the pharmacies who have already taken part. Those pharmacy teams who carried out the audit are requested to submit their data to PSNC via PharmOutcomes ASAP. However, they have also decided to extend the participation deadline to make sure no pharmacy misses out on the chance to submit their data. 
 
Your data will help assess how many of these informal consultations are happening and their positive impact on the patient and wider health care system. PSNC hope to receive data from as many pharmacy teams as possible to build a strong evidence base. 
 
Further information and resources can be found at: psnc.org.uk/adviceaudit

 


Pharmacy Opening Hours – Update 


Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSC) has received confirmation that the pandemic and national emergency declaration which was due to end on 30th June 2020 has been extended from 1st July 2020 until 1st September 2020.   

However, any applications made to reduce hours, expired on 30th June 2020 and so new applications to temporarily reduce NHS opening hours or to close must be submitted.  

A brief outline of options available if you are unable to fulfil your full NHS contracted hours (both core and supplementary) from 1st July 2020 are as follows: 

  • Provisions within the National Community Pharmacy SOP –  Closing the door to patients for up to 2.5 hours per day at the discretion of the Responsible Pharmacist 

  • Inability to Provide Services Outside of Contractor’s Control – This would mean completing the Notification of unplanned temporary suspension of services” template form, for one-off instance of non-provision of services affected

  • Requests for temporary opening hours and closures during an emergency requiring the flexible provision of pharmaceutical services – This option is Schedule 4, Part 3, Paragraph 27, to enable contractors to make a request to temporarily alter NHS contracted hours; or to temporarily close during an emergency.  

 More information can be found in this letter
 


Updated guidance for shielded patients 

 

The Department for health and social care have published updated guidance for both NHS professionals and patients in relation to shielding.  

They have announced that from 6 July, the clinically extremely vulnerable may, if they wish: 

  • meet in a group of up to 6 people outdoors, including people from different households, while maintaining strict social distancing. 
  • no longer observe social distancing with other members of their household. 

For more information view the two letters linked above


Locality news: what's happening in your area

Locality Specific COVID-19 Updates

GMLPC has created a locality specific update page. These updates contain important information for community pharmacy teams about the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here for more information.

Oldham – Emergency Hormone Contraception update 

 

A new temporary adjustment to the Levongestrel 1500 microgram tablet PGD (Patient Group Directive) has now been published for use by any pharmacies offering the Emergency Hormone Contraception (EHC) service. 

The adjustments detailed in the document are effective from 01/07/2020 until 30/09/2020. They will be reviewed by 30/09/2020 dependent upon the COVID-19 pandemic situation at that time.   

Click here to view the document 
 


TCAM Update for Greater Manchester
  

document providing further information and updates on TCAM (The Transfer of Care Around Medicines project) has been published by Health Innovation Manchester. TCAM is currently live in Salford, Tameside, and Stockport.

More information is available on the GMLPC website here and this page will be updated as further details are made available.Training materials are also available at this link.

Click here for the GM TCAM on-demand Training Webinar for Community Pharmacists and teams 

An update from Health Innovation Manchester can be viewed here.
Updated information about the service can be viewed here.

TCAM Hints and Tips can be viewed here.

For a demonstration of the referral process, click the links below: 

Health innovation Manchester  

Pharmoutcomes 
 


 

Reminders

Survey: PPE requirements in Community Pharmacy  

 

The LPCs across Greater Manchester and Lancashire understand the challenges many of you have faced with regard to the purchase of PPE and other equipment over recent months. 

In collaboration with the Community Pharmacy Provider Companies we have been looking at how we could potentially offer support as we approach the busy flu and winter season and would appreciate a few minutes of your time to complete this short survey to explore if we could potentially support PPE supply for contractors in Greater Manchester.

If you are a member of a pharmacy group please check with your area manager before completing. 
 


COVID-19 Testing for Community Pharmacy Key Workers

 

CHL, Bolton and GM LPCs have worked closely with GMHSCP to secure limited COVID-19 testing for key workers. This opportunity has been arranged with the intention of supporting community pharmacy key workers to return to work where a negative test is confirmed.
 
Tests can only be performed for:

  • Community pharmacists or key workers in community pharmacy who are currently unable to work due to having symptoms themselves.
  • Family members of community pharmacy key workers who have symptoms and have caused the community pharmacy key worker to self-isolate.
  • People aged over 18.
The testing can only be completed on the symptomatic person. Individuals eligible for testing should be in the first three days of the onset of symptoms at the time the swab is taken - although testing is considered effective up until day five. Anyone who is too ill to work should not be tested.

Testing is only available to people over the age of 18. If there is a member of the household under 18 who is symptomatic then no one in the household should be tested and isolation guidance should be followed. 

All tests will be delivered at a ‘drive through’ facility based at Manchester Airport so you must be able to attend by car. The person requiring the test must supply a mobile number, email address, and vehicle registration number in order for an appointment to be booked.  

Available appointments will be allocated on a first come, first served basis only to people who complete the form via the link here. A unique code will be sent via text message to the number provided when you register, which will allow you to book an appointment. Further information and details will be supplied once an appointment slot has been confirmed. 
 

National Testing Programme

 

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced a national testing programme for frontline workers, including community pharmacy staff. 

The testing is available to workers who are self-isolating and anyone they live with.  

Essential workers can book a test and will be given the option to select a regional test site drive-through appointment or home test kit. The availability of the home test kit will initially be limited but more will become available in the future. 

For more information about the national testing programme click here.
 

Please note: Contractors who have access to both national and local testing services should only use ONE of these testing services. 

For further information and resources, click here to access our dedicated COVID-19 resources page. If you have any feedback please use the online form or email covid19@gmlpc.org.uk as a permanent feature.
Other News and Useful Resources

Joint letter from the GPhC and the Competition and Markets Authority on pricing 

 

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) have written a joint letter to pharmacists and pharmacy owners regarding pricing during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

They state that it is vital that the public’s trust in pharmacy continues to be maintained. While most pharmacies have been striving to do the right thing and look after people under exceptionally challenging social and business circumstances, they have received reports alleging that a small minority of pharmacies have been seeking to benefit from the coronavirus pandemic by charging unjustifiably high prices for essential products – including hand sanitiser, face masks and paracetamol – which continue to be in very high demand. 

The CMA have said that they cannot see justification for this and therefore encourage all pharmacies to ensure that their pricing on essential products is fair and does not include higher- than-usual markups. 

For more information view the full letter published here

Drug Notifications

Availability of Epipen 0.15mg and 0.3mg adrenaline auto-injectors – US labelled EpiPen 0.3mg 

Mylan have advised that to ensure continuous access to Epipen 0.3mg auto-injectors in the UK they have, following approval from the MHRA, released a batch of US labelled auto injectors. The batch number is 9FM766 

The EpiPen auto-injectors in this batch are affixed with a US label, and are packaged (as single packs) into UK cartons along with UK patient information leaflets. 

The drug name is epinephrine in the US but is known as adrenaline in the UK. Patients and carers familiar with the term adrenaline may be confused. 

For more information click here 
 

Medicine Supply Notification: Fluticasone propionate (Flixotide) 

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a medicine supply notification for this drug.  

Flixotide 0.5mg/2ml nebules will be out of stock from late June 2020. 

Flixotide 2mg/2ml nebules will be out of stock from August 2020. 

Resupplies of both strengths are expected from 4th November 2020. 

Click here for further information. 

MHRA Drug Safety Update  

A new Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Drug Safety Update has been published and includes articles on: 

  • Cyproterone acetate: new advice to minimise risk of meningioma 

  • Direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs): reminder of bleeding risk, availability of reversal agents 

  • Letters and drug alerts sent to healthcare professionals 

To see the latest MHRA Drug Safety Updates in full, visit the GOV.uk website 
 

Class 4 Medicines Defect Information: Depo-Provera 150mg/ml Injection (Drugsrus Ltd (distributor) / Tenolol Ltd (MA Holder)) 

The Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a class 4 medicines defect information notice .

This is due to the fact that the Drugsrus Ltd (distributor) / Tenolol Ltd (MA Holder) has informed MHRA of a typographical error in active ingredient stated on the label on the vial.

The active ingredient should be
“medroxyprogesteroneacetate” (a long acting contraceptive) however, it is stated as
“methylpredinisolone acetate” (a corticosteroid) in error. 

Further details are available here  

External Training, Events and Information

Findings of the Independent Review into Contractor Representation and Support Published  

 

The findings and recommendations of the independent review into community pharmacy representation and support have been published on Friday 19th June. 
 
The review was commissioned jointly by PSNC and LPCs last year to look for ways in which they could work more effectively together, and to ensure that the representation and support network for contractors – both local and national – is fit for the future. 

The review was led by Professor David Wright, Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the University of East Anglia (UEA), working with a team of UEA researchers and taking evidence through focus groups, interviews and surveys from people across the community pharmacy sector and beyond. 

To help contractors and their teams to understand the current structures for representation and support as well as what Professor Wright’s report recommends, PSNC’s Communications Team has produced a summary briefing available to download here
 
Further Information is available here

Useful links

GMLPC understands the immense challenges contractors face, our role is to represent and support you. We would like to remind all contractors that we are here to offer guidance, act as a sounding board and intercede whenever possible. 

CCA / Multiples: Contractors from large or small multiples should always check with their line manager or head office before acting on advice or booking training.
Copyright © 2020 Greater Manchester Local Pharmaceutical Committee, All rights reserved.


Office Telephone Number: 0161 228 6163


Email: enquiries@gmlpc.org.uk


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