The aim of the service is to appropriately manage patients contacting NHS 111 with low acuity conditions, through referral to a community pharmacy to reduce pressure on the primary and urgent care system, particularly GP out of hours. The NHS Community Pharmacy Referral Service (‘CPRS’) is available in Northumbria, Tyne & Wear, Durham, Darlington and Tees.
What the service will provide
The agreement is for the pharmacy to provide self-care advice and support. This will include printed information to all people referred to the pharmacy by NHS 111, due to a specified low acuity condition.
The end points of the consultation may include:
advice given only
advice and the sale of an OTC medicine
advice and referral into the pharmacy local MAS (Minor ailment service - dependent on local commissioning arrangements - please see each service specification)
advice and ‘direct dial’ access to GP to set up appointment (each pharmacy will use a local arrangement for this)
advice and signpost on to another service
How to access the service
Any patient, even those registered with a GP from outside the North East, can access CPRS as they would likely still have attended another care location in the area. To access the service patients must:
have called NHS111 and been referred are eligible to receive advice and treatment
opt-in
be assessed by the pharmacy, potentially being referred to other health and social care professionals, where appropriate
Patients who wish to consult their GP or other health care provider for their condition are still free to do so.
Timescale
The North East CPRS is due to commence from 4th December 2017 and run until 31 March 2018.
Service Specification
As with all services contractors are advised to read the service specification to make yourselves familiar with the terms and conditions before agreeing to this service. A copy of the spec can be downloaded by clicking here. Register to provide the service
If you are a pharmacy within the specified North East areas and you intend to provide the service between 4 December 2017 and 31 March 2018, you must register your pharmacy’s details with NHS England first by completing the form on the NHSBSA website. This can be accessed by clicking here.