Please find below an update for Flu services.  
It is important that you read and action points as necessary.   In particular around service evaluations.
  
Service Evaluation

We have noticed that the evaluation response rate is a lot lower than the vaccination rate.  This could be due to evaluations not being entered on to the PharmOutcomes system.

Please could we ask that all evaluations are entered on the system as soon as possible.

This data is very important as it helps us to demonstrate the value of the service to patients so please make sure you are asking patients to fill in the evaluation forms and subsequently enter them on to the system.
 
Currently out of 48 Pharmacies offering the service only 20 have entered evaluation data.

Evaluation forms can be downloaded by clicking HERE. or visiting the northern Pharmacy resource page.
http://www.northernpharmacy.net/nt-gst-s-resources.html

The time you keep your patient for monitoring after the vaccination is an ideal opportunity to ask them to fill it in.Current Uptake

Current data from PharmOutcomes is showing over 2240  NHS Vaccines in Gateshead, South Tyneside & Sunderland area from 48 Pharmacies.

Our neigbouring LPCS are showing 3123  vaccinations from 87 pharmacies in North of Tyne and 8456 from approx 120 pharmacies  in Cumbria.

Please make sure you are entering your data as soon as possible into PharmOutcomes. 

Reports

We have now made reports available on PharmOutcomes so you can see how the service is doing in Gateshead, South Tyneside & Sunderland.  The report gives you a good indication of the service and also shows you your position in terms of vaccination numbers compared to your colleagues.

Please take a look at this and if you need any support please speak to your colleagues on the list  or the LPC.

Don't forget marketing material is available for you to download and use from the Northern Pharmacy website.
http://www.northernpharmacy.net/marketing-material.html

Private Vaccinations

Following my message about private vaccinations being entered on PharmOutcomes I would like to thank those pharmacies that have started entering data and I would urge those that have not yet entered their private data to enter it as soon as they can into the private flu service on PharmOutcomes.

This data along with the data from evaluations and the NHS service will help the LPC  to analysis the flu service locally.

Hard to Reach Patients - At Risk Groups

One of the reasons that Pharmacy was commissioned to provide flu services was to reach those hard to reach patients at risk who are eligible for a NHS vaccine.

The hope is to see the vaccination uptake of those patients increase on previous years.  

Many of these patients visit your pharmacies and so we ask that they are targeted so that the Area team can see the difference that Pharmacy makes.

Those groups are stated in the SLA however for your convenience are listed below.

• all pregnant women (including those women who become pregnant during the flu season) 

• people with a serious medical condition such as: chronic (long-term) respiratory disease, such as severe asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or bronchitis

• chronic heart disease, such as heart failure

• chronic kidney disease at stage 3, 4 or 5 

• chronic liver disease 

• chronic neurological disease, such as Parkinson’s disease or motor neurone disease 

• diabetes 

• a weakened immune system due to disease (such as HIV/AIDS) or treatment (such as cancer treatment) 

• people living in long-stay residential care homes or other long-stay care facilities where rapid spread is likely to follow introduction of infection and cause high morbidity and mortality. This does not include, for instance, prisons, young offender institutions, or university halls of residence

• people who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an older or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill 

 

Novartis have made us aware that AAH now has stock of Fluvirin.
They can be ordered in 10's using the following code.

AAH Code - FLU0658G

We are still waiting to here when other wholesalers will have stock and thier codes.
As soon as I get that information I will let you know.

The following is a copy of a flu update sent to contractors on the 23rd October 2013
If you provide flu services please read and action accordingly.


GP NOTIFICATION

It is extremely important that a patients GP is informed of any vaccinations that have been given.  This not only helps the record for national statistics but also ensures that the patients record is up to date and and reduces the possibility of a double vaccination occuring.

We have had some reports to us that some GPs are not recieving notifiactions in a timely fashion.

Please can we remind you that the SLA sates that 

"The client’s GP should be informed that immunisation has taken place as soon as possible, either immediately by fax or in a manner agreed locally, which must always provide a daily update of immunisations to each GP surgery (on 
weekdays) "
 
PHARMOUTCOMES

It is important that Pharmoutcomes is used to enter the details of your vaccines.  This will ensure that you receive payment for your NHS vaccines but also allows us to collect data to help us keep the commissioners informed of progress.

On that note we also would like contractors to fill in details of their Private vaccinations through pharmoutcomes as this helps us to analyse data across the 2 services.  

Currently we are seeing an increase in the numbers of NHS vaccinations but a low number of Private Vaccinations.  It would seem that very few of our colleagues in the large chain pharmacies are entering this data.  

The LPC would like to encourage all contractors to enter this data as this helps us to assess uptake.  

If you are unsure on how to access PharmOutcomes please click here to visit our website and read the previous flu updates for details.
SLA

The Area team is still awaiting some SLA signature pages back.  Please double check and make sure you have returned your SLA to Linda Bosher.  

Linda's Details are as follows.

Linda Bosher
Assistant Primary Care Commissioning Support

County Durham, Darlington & Tees Area Team
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear Area Team
NHS England
Rapier House
Colima Avenue
Sunderland Enterprise Park
Sunderland
SR5 3XB
 
Direct Dial:       0191 502 6572
Switch Board:  0191 502 6542
Fax:                  01325 553096
 
Email:               [email protected]


CURRENT UPTAKE

Current data from PharmOutcomes is showing over 1182 NHS Vaccines in Gateshead, South Tyneside & Sunderland area from 32 Pharmacies.

Our neigbouring LPCS are showing 1734 in North of Tyne and 6139 in Cumbria.

Please make sure you are entering your data as soon as possible into PharmOutcomes.


VACCINE SUPPLY

We understand that vaccine supply has been a real struggle and we are constantly speak to Novartis about it however we have not had a firm date of supply yet.

We understand Vaccine is obtainable from different suppliers and wholesalers and our advice is that you shop arround on a daily basis to see where supplies are available.  

We appreciate this is not ideal however it is beyond our control.  The NHS PGD does not restrict you a particular brand so please do not think you need to stick to Novartis.

If you have used Novartis to train(through the LPC) they have also supplied us with a Private PGD which does not restrict you either.  These PGD was emailed out directly from Novartis however they can also be downloaded from the Northern Pharmacy Website Resource pages.


START UP PROCESS & FAQ's


We have had a number of queries and questions surround the Flu service.  We will be putting up an FAQ on the Northern Pharmacy Website shortly.  This may answer many of the your questions.

Despite all our communications, one of the big questions we are getting asked in particular is how we sign up to the NHS Service.

Below is a summary of what you need to do.  For further detail please visit ournews pages to read our previous communications.

1. Ensure appropriate training has taken place in the pharmacy.  Pharmacists need to have training in giving IM injections, Basic Life Support and Anaphylaxis.
2. Log in to PharmOutcomes for your pharmacies
3. Fill in the NHS Service Accreditation form for each Pharmacist who will be vaccinating
4.  Once Accreditation has been confirmed this will result in 3 services appearing in PharmOutcomes 
- NHS Service
- Private Service
- Evaluation Service
5.  You will use these services to report your vaccinations and evaluation forms.
6.  Visit the Northern Pharmacy Website Resources Page
7. Download the NHS SLA, PGD'S, Consultation Form, and Evaluation Form.
8. Carefully read the SLA and PGD's
9.  Ensure you are happy with the content of those documents and have everything in place to provide the service.
10. Sign the SLA Signature page and return to Linda Bosher (See above)
11. Order Vaccines
12 Proceed with service.
13.  Enter all vaccines into Pharmoutcomes
14. Enter all Evaluation forms into Pharmoutcomes
15. Ensure the Patients GP is informed as soon as possible.

Should you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact us and once we the FAQ is ready online I will email out again.

You may recall  that the flu PGD refers to the requirement to have an adrenaline PGD. Though this is entirely unnecessary, and  has been pointed out to the the Area Team they have supplied one.  

You can download it from the Northern Pharmacy Website.

The LPC would like to  remind pharmacies who are providing flu services that they need to make sure they enter their claims onto PharmOutcomes.

We currently have a number of accredited pharmacies who have not yet put any data into PharmOutcomes.  We need to constantly update NHS England with our vaccinations nubers so it would be helpful if you could put your claims through as soon as possible after vaccinating. This gives us a live report.

Currently we are showing 380 vaccinations across 15 pharmacies.  Yet we have accredited more that 45 pharmacies.  Our neighbouring LPC's are showing large numbers of vaccinations in the first week of service (Cumbria - 2000+, North of Tyne 1000+).

Remember PharmOutcomes will provide the Area team with an invoice for payment so it is important that you put a process in place to regularly update PharmOuctomes with your vaccinations.  If you use the consultation forms during your service you can always ask members of your pharmacy team to input the data into PharmOutcomes.  

The PGD and SLA for the NHS Service is now out.  They can be found on the Northern Pharmacy Resource Web Pages as well as other support documents.  e.g Consultation forms, Evaluation Letters, Support packs, National references etc.

You can access these resources by visiting 

http://www.northernpharmacy.net/

The resources pages are linked from the menu along the top right.  You will need to pick the page relevant to your LPC area. Each page is different and contains slightly different resources.

Don't forget to make use of the marketing material on the Northern Pharmacy which is linked on the same menu.


PharmOutcomes - in Gateshead , South Tyneside , Sunderland & North of Tyne

Now the SLA and PGD are available.  Activation of the services on PharmOutcomes has started.  If you have completed the accreditation service you will find the flu services will activate shortly so keep an eye on the system.

Sami Hanna, (Flu Lead for the LPC) said   "it has been hard work to get everything ready for the flu service and I would to thank contractors for their patience and wish them all the best with this years flu campaign in particular around those hard to reach patients. (Those under 65 with risk factors)."  

Below is a copy of the flu update email sent on the 25th Sept 2013.  It was sent from OUr Flu LEad Sami Hanna.

Good Afternoon

This is for pharmacies offering flu services.

General INFO

I have received a lot of queries about the flu service and understand the frustration there is to get the service up and running.   I can assure that we are working hard to get the details out asap. 
Unfortunately a lot of issues are outside of our control.  You can be assured that as soon as information is released I will get it out to you straight away.
The latest information we have was sent at the weekend and can be read on the Gateshead & South Tyneside LPC website .

http://www.gandstlpc.net/3/post/2013/09/flu-service-update-for-201314.html

Please make sure you are connected to us via email, twitter or facebook to ensure you get the information as soon as it comes out.

Pharmacists who used Novartis Training

Novartis have informed us that there has been a delay in the packs going out however they were dispatched yesterday so they should start arriving imminently.

With regards to Novartis stock, There have been some manufacturing issues this year, due to the change of two out of three strains for the 2013/14 season causing an increase in manufacturing complexity.
Novartis are sending out electronically today generic PGD's to pharmacies to use until their stocks are available.  These will be sent to the email you registered with them when you did the online training.  I will  add them to the resource pages of the Northern Pharmacy websites also shortly.

PLEASE NOTE

The above info is for PRIVATE flu services being offered through the NOvartis Programme.  The NHS PGD will be a generic one where you can use any vaccine.  We are still waiting for this from the area team.

PHARMOUTCOMES

I have been informed that the Pharmoutcomes platform will be ready with the accreditation module ready to use later on today. So in the meantime please makes sure you read my earlier email and action the Pharmoutcomes part.

http://www.gandstlpc.net/3/post/2013/09/flu-service-update-for-201314.html

Thanks

Sami
(Flu Lead for the LPC) 

The latest information for the flu service can be found below.  Please be sure to read it carefully and action the points in red below.

NHS service

At this point, due to circumstances beyond our control, we do not have the NHS service specification, contract or PGD. We are waiting for these documents from the NHS England area team. We can tell you that we have agreed that the service will be remunerated at £12 per vaccination. Whilst the LPCs locally are disappointed that this is less than previous years and could be viewed as the fee being paid as less than that paid to other primary care providers, we have worked hard to ensure that the service has been commissioned this year.

This year all those eligible for an NHS vaccination can be vaccinated in the pharmacy, provided they are aged 18 or over. This is because children aged 17 years and under should be referred to their GP for the nasal vaccination which has been introduced this year. We are hopeful that pharmacy will be commissioned to administer the nasal vaccination next year and this is being trialed in Cumbria this year.

Claims for the service will be made via PharmOutcomes.

As soon as we have the NHS service specification, contract and PGD, we will notify you and make them available on the Northern Pharmacy website: www.northernpharmacy.net

Private service

If you accessed the LPC commissioned Novartis training, you will find copies of the support documentation on the Northern Pharmacy website soon. If you trained with any other provider, please ensure you follow the details of the PGD provided to you by your trainer. 

All private vaccinations need to be recorded on PharmOutcomes.

Vaccine stock

As the NHS PGD will be generic, you may use any vaccine.

If you are using the Novartis PGD for your private service you will be required to use Novartis vaccines. However, we have been advised that stock will not  be available for the start of the service on 1st October. As Novartis do not want to delay pharmacies from beginning their service provision, they will be issuing a generic PGD to allow you to use any vaccine. Once their stock is available to order, this PGD will be withdrawn and you will need to revert to the Novartis vaccine specific PGD.

Novartis will be providing us with PIP codes for their ring fenced pharmacy stock and we will forward these as soon as they are available. In the interim, we advise pharmacists to order whatever vaccine stock is available to them to commence service on 1st October, through their normal supply chains.

PharmOutcomes

As previously  indicated, all vaccinations need to be recorded on PharmOutcomes. This will generate an invoice for payment to NHS England for the NHS vaccinations you provide and will generate data about the service for all vaccinations, NHS and private, to theLPC.www.pharmoutcomes.org

***** What you need to do now ******

1. Ensure you have your PharmOutcomes log-in details and know how to access the system.
2. Log-in and go to the ‘Admin’ tab and ensure all your details are fully completed and correct, for example, email address and telephone number.
3. Within the next seven days, you will need to log-in and check the service section. You will find a new service ‘Seasonal Influenza pharmacist accreditation details’. You must complete the details required for each trained pharmacist, in order for the vaccination service templates to be activated for you. The training details will be validated prior to activation.
4. Once the vaccination service templates are activated, you will see three additional services when you log-in, NHS service, private service and patient evaluation. 

Patient evaluation

After every vaccination (private or NHS) ask your patient to complete an evaluation form. This will also keep them in the pharmacy, so you can be assured that they are not going to develop anaphylaxis after they leave the pharmacy. These evaluation details are then transferred to the PharmOutcomes service template. This is essential to provide robust data to the LPCs and NHS England regarding patient choice of service provider and quality of service experience.

Resources

As soon as we receive the NHS supporting documentation, this will be made available on a resource page on the Northern Pharmacy website. Supporting documents, such as the consultation form/GP notification form, evaluation form, etc. will also be available on this page.  This page, as previously stated, will also contain Novartis documentation.

Marketing materials

Those who have completed the Novartis training will receive marketing materials with their support pack. These are being sent out in batches and we understand that delivery has now started.

As we do not yet have any NHS marketing material, we have updated that which has been used in previous years and this is available on the marketing page of the Northern Pharmacy website. Please start using this material as you see fit to advertise your service to patients.  A direct link to the marketing page is  www.northernpharmacy.net/marketing-material.html

As we more information, we will keep you updated so make sure you are on our mailing list or following us on Facebook ortwitter.

Background
Flu services are now being commissioned  by the area teams of NHS England.  There are 2 area teams covering our region.  One team covers  Cumbria, Northumberland  North Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland  and the second team covers Durham, Darlington and Tees.

As each LPC has traditionally  negotiated flu services separately with their own  PCTs we thought it would make sense for us to form one regional group to negotiate for the service.   


This group has been working hard to get the service commisioned.

Flu Service 2013/14
We can now confirrm that the area team covering Gateshead & South Tynside is intending to commision the NHS flu service this year through pharmacy.   

The regional group have put a website together to act as a central portal of information for flu this season.  The site can be accessed at www.northernpharmacy.net   and will be updated as soon as information is available.  Details of SLAs,  PGDs, marketing and resources will all be held on there for easy access.

You will be able to access this site through our own website also. 

TRAINING
Whilst we are waiting for the specific detail of the service we understand that everyone will need to undertake training. (Either full training as in previous years or an update training)

North of Tyne LPC, Gateshead & South Tyneside LPC and Sunderland LPC have jointly  organised training for contractors and their pharmacists in the North and South of Tyne area.  The training will ensure you have the relevant competencies required to provide the NHS Seasonal Flu Vaccination Service.

We have arranged training with Novartis again.  This means that many of you will not need to attend a live session but will be ok to complete an online update.

Full details can be found on our Flu training page  http://www.northernpharmacy.net/nt-gst-s-lpc.html  

Please make sure you read this information and register for the training that is relevant to you.  The LPC would encourage you to act on this as soon as possible so you don't miss out on training and are in a position to roll out your flu service quickly. The LPC is again subsidising the cost of training and the cost to pharmacists is the most competitive price we have found.