Welcome to Community Pharmacy Lincolnshire News
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Welcome to our weekly newsletter.
In this week's email:
- Changes to nhs.net mail access requirements - inactive accounts deleted after 60 days (reduction from 180 days)
- Chief Pharmaceutical Officer’s Pharmacy Leaders Development Programme
- For Information: Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Infections Advice sent to GPs
- Lincolnshire Integrated Medicines and Prescribing Service Newsletter: December 2022
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UPCOMING DEADLINES
- 9th December 2022 - PSNC Pharmacy Vision Survey closes
PSNC has launched an open consultation to hear from contractors, LPCs and others about their views on the future of the sector. The consultation – which takes the form of an online survey – is the first opportunity within PSNC's vision project for individuals and organisations to share their thoughts with Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund.
Learn more about the consultation
- By Mid-February must start 6 week National Mandatory Audit - Deadline for completion 31st March 2023
PSNC and NHS England have agreed that the 2022/23 national clinical audit will focus on valproate, with the aim of reducing the potential harm caused by taking valproate during pregnancy. The audit must be completed by all community pharmacy contractors as this is part of their NHS contractual requirements. Contractors will be required to conduct the audit over a six-week consecutive period, however, the workload associated with the audit is expected to be manageable for all contractors as the number of patients covered by the audit is small. Contractors can choose the six-week period over which to complete the audit (as long as this is completed by 31st March 2023). Read more about the audit requirements at the PSNC website here.
- 31st March 2023 - Completion of PQS 2022/23 Gateway Criteria
Completion of 20 NMS this financial year and Patient Safety Report - more information around PQS that is regularly updated can be found on the PSNC website here
IMPORTANT GENERAL REMINDERS
- 1st December 2022 - Changes to Controlled Drug Reporting - new website active
Please complete registration on the new website ASAP. More details in our recent newsletter here.
- Changes to Monthly Service Transitional Payments Qualification - The requirement to do one NMS per month and be signed up for CPCS from January 2022
In our 20th January 2022 newsletter here we covered this in more detail.
- Remember changes occurred on 1st October 2022 - GPhC reinstating full revalidation requirements for registrants with new standards for the reflective account now apply
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Changes to nhs.net email access requirements from 1st December
Inactivity period prior to permanent, irrecoverable account deletion reduced from 180 days to 60 days
In order to access the store nhs.net email account, users need to maintain an active nhs email individually. It is important you sign into your account regularly or it will be disabled by NHSmail administration and will not be able to be recovered. Please read the information below and make sure you share with your colleagues/team members the need to log into their nhs email at least once every 30 days-perhaps make a diary note to log in once a month to make sure.
NHSmail user accounts that are not proactively used or monitored present a security risk to the NHSmail platform. To enhance security, NHSmail Administration have made some account changes as from 1st December 2022.
Previously, user accounts that were not proactively used had 90 days before being classed as inactive, if there was still no activity (while in the inactive state) for a further 90 days (total 180 days), the account was deleted.
Both the active and inactive periods have been reduced to 30 days, therefore accounts that are not proactively used for 60 consecutive days will be deleted.
Once the account is deleted; it can be restored within 30 days by contacting the National Administration Service (NAS) – NHSmail Support If the account is not restored within this final 30 days, the account is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
Please note: Shared mailboxes will not be impacted.
What do I need to do?
Undertaking at least one of the following activities every 30 days will keep your NHSmail account active:
- Log into the NHSmail portal
- Log into O365 application
- Use O365 applications (i.e., Outlook with cached credentials)
- Send an email
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Chief Pharmaceutical Officer’s Pharmacy Leaders Development Programme
We have been asked to assist in promoting this development opportunity.
Applications are now open for this programme until midday on Monday 12 December 2022. Applicants should have experience of working in a role with Classification: Official 2 responsibility for leading strategic and operational aspects of pharmacy services and be keen to develop their leadership skills further.
The programme is delivered in partnership with the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education, and it aims to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours to help experienced pharmacy professionals become outstanding, compassionate and inclusive leaders. This will help to boost the performance of teams, achieving better outcomes for patients and the public.
More details and how to apply can be found in the letter at the link below:
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For Information: Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Infections Advice sent to GPs
We are working with the regional team to highlight the antibiotic supply issues being faced by contractors in Lincolnshire. We have asked the NHS regional representatives to think about how a coordinated response could perhaps be organised and consider steps to ensure those pharmacies open over the Christmas and New Year Bank Holidays have adequate stock available.
Below is the Strep A advice that went to GP surgeries late Wednesday night.
You may also find this link useful about teach children and young people how to swallow pills.
MHRA - UKHSA Alert:
UKHSA released an urgent public health message on 2nd December with advice to General Practice via the Central Alerting System with the following recommendations for Primary and Secondary Care:
· Given the unusually high level of GAS, and viral co-circulation in the community, health care professionals are asked to have a low threshold to consider and empirically prescribe antibiotics to children presenting with features of GAS infection, including where secondary to viral respiratory illness.
· Consider taking a throat swab to assist with differential diagnosis or if the patient is thought to be part of an outbreak (to confirm aetiology), allergic to penicillin (to determine antimicrobial susceptibility) or in regular contact with vulnerable individuals
· Parents of children with presumed respiratory viral infection should be made aware of features suggestive of secondary bacterial infection, such as clinical deterioration, and when and how to seek further help. Safety netting advice for parents can be found on the link below.
· GPs should maintain a low threshold for prompt referral to secondary care of any children presenting with persistent or worsening symptoms.
Prescribing Guidance:
The following antimicrobial guidance from NICE and Public Health England provides advice for GAS (scarlet fever) on page 2 Antimicrobial prescribing table (bnf.org) and general advice via this visual summary. NG84 Sore throat (acute): antimicrobial prescribing visual summary (nice.org.uk) . We are aware the advice for treating penicillin allergic patients differs to the NICE CKS website.
UKHSA will be publishing updated antimicrobial prescribing guidance for GAS imminently but in the interim, we advise empirical treatment with clarithromycin for patients with a penicillin allergy and to send throat swabs for culture as specified above.
To support the dispensing of antibiotic liquids for children by community pharmacists at this time, the LPC request sugar free is not specified on the prescription for antibiotic suspensions unless there is a specific clinical need i.e. a child with diabetes. This will allow the pharmacist to discuss available stock with the patient’s parent or carer and will prevent queries from pharmacies back to general practice. Wherever possible, the community pharmacy will supply sugar free phenoxymethylpenicillin or amoxicillin.
Stock Shortages:
The NHS national team are aware there are issues with community pharmacy access to stock of phenoxymethylpenicillin 125mg in 5ml; 250mg in 5ml suspension; amoxicillin 125mg in 5ml and 250mg in 5ml. We have been advised that NHS England regional teams are developing plans to support local community pharmacies to access stock from wholesalers.
Work is also underway nationally to prepare guidance for prescribers regarding other suitable oral antibiotic preparations for children and this is expected to be available in the next few days.
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Lincolnshire Integrated Medicines and Prescribing Service newsletter
The December 2022 edition of the Lincolnshire Integrated Medicines and Prescribing Service newsletter is now available here:
https://sway.office.com/EdCph8AZUArNGx0I?ref=Link
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