PSNC, NHS England and NHS Employers have agreed that the national community pharmacy clinical audit on the emergency supply of medicines will now go ahead over two revised audit periods:
Period 1: Monday 23rd March until Sunday 5th April 2015
Period 2: Monday 6th April until Sunday 19th April 2015
The audit was agreed as part of the community pharmacy settlement for 2014/15. The audit documentation has now been published and can be downloaded from: psnc.org.uk/nationalaudit and www.england.nhs.uk/pharmacy
Pharmacy contractors must now undertake the audit over one of the two audit periods.
The LPC would suggest that, as per our previous advice, contractors should do the period based on the last digit of thier F code.
Odd figure – audit period 1 - Monday 23rd March until Sunday 5th April 20155 (inclusive)
Even figure – audit period 2 - Monday 6th April until Sunday 19th April 2015 (inclusive)
In a joint statement the three organisations said:
“We are very pleased that we are now in a position to take forward this important audit. We believe the outcomes of the audit will provide valuable information on the existing community pharmacy service and will influence how the service is configured in the future.”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - From the PSNC Website
Q Why was there a delay in publication of the audit documentation?
The audit was originally planned to start on 9th March 2015, but NHS England was not able to get the audit paperwork approved via its internal governance procedures in time for that date. PSNC therefore advised the NHS that the delays would mean the audit due to begin on 9th March could not go ahead.
Q Why has PSNC agreed that the audit should still go ahead?
At PSNC’s recent meeting on 11th March 2015 the Committee agreed that the audit could still proceed across the two revised audit periods. The Committee was very disappointed that the audit had to be delayed due to NHS administrative processes, but it believes the audit will provide valuable information on the pharmacy service and it is therefore pleased to have agreed that this can now go ahead. It is hoped that positive data from the audit alongside other data from NHS 111 and GP Out of Hours providers, will help make the case for the commissioning of community pharmacy emergency supply services at NHS expense.
PSNC Comment Alastair Buxton, Head of NHS Services, said:
“The national clinical audit is the first of its kind in the NHS and was an important part of the 2014/15 funding settlement. It will be a great way to showcase community pharmacy’s work. It is a pity that the wider implementation was somewhat overshadowed by delays to the publication of the audit documentation; but we hope that pharmacies will now be able to prepare for the audit and will find it as straightforward as those in the pilot did.”
Bharat Patel, independent pharmacy contractor and member of the PSNC Negotiating Team, said:
“This has been an exasperating time for those pharmacies who had been planning to carry out the clinical audit this week. PSNC has been equally frustrated by the delays, and we have stressed to NHS England the importance of giving contractors adequate time to prepare for these sorts of things. However, we now have the paperwork, and from what I have seen and heard from the pharmacies involved in the pilots, I think that the audit will be straightforward for pharmacy teams to carry out. When we agreed the clinical audit with NHS England I was very excited about its potential; this will be the first national audit of its kind and if it can help to highlight an important but often unrecognised part of our work, showing the value we are delivering to patients, then I think it will pay dividends. I still believe this to be the case, and hope pharmacies will still really be able to get behind this audit.”
Period 1: Monday 23rd March until Sunday 5th April 2015
Period 2: Monday 6th April until Sunday 19th April 2015
The audit was agreed as part of the community pharmacy settlement for 2014/15. The audit documentation has now been published and can be downloaded from: psnc.org.uk/nationalaudit and www.england.nhs.uk/pharmacy
Pharmacy contractors must now undertake the audit over one of the two audit periods.
The LPC would suggest that, as per our previous advice, contractors should do the period based on the last digit of thier F code.
Odd figure – audit period 1 - Monday 23rd March until Sunday 5th April 20155 (inclusive)
Even figure – audit period 2 - Monday 6th April until Sunday 19th April 2015 (inclusive)
In a joint statement the three organisations said:
“We are very pleased that we are now in a position to take forward this important audit. We believe the outcomes of the audit will provide valuable information on the existing community pharmacy service and will influence how the service is configured in the future.”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - From the PSNC Website
Q Why was there a delay in publication of the audit documentation?
The audit was originally planned to start on 9th March 2015, but NHS England was not able to get the audit paperwork approved via its internal governance procedures in time for that date. PSNC therefore advised the NHS that the delays would mean the audit due to begin on 9th March could not go ahead.
Q Why has PSNC agreed that the audit should still go ahead?
At PSNC’s recent meeting on 11th March 2015 the Committee agreed that the audit could still proceed across the two revised audit periods. The Committee was very disappointed that the audit had to be delayed due to NHS administrative processes, but it believes the audit will provide valuable information on the pharmacy service and it is therefore pleased to have agreed that this can now go ahead. It is hoped that positive data from the audit alongside other data from NHS 111 and GP Out of Hours providers, will help make the case for the commissioning of community pharmacy emergency supply services at NHS expense.
PSNC Comment Alastair Buxton, Head of NHS Services, said:
“The national clinical audit is the first of its kind in the NHS and was an important part of the 2014/15 funding settlement. It will be a great way to showcase community pharmacy’s work. It is a pity that the wider implementation was somewhat overshadowed by delays to the publication of the audit documentation; but we hope that pharmacies will now be able to prepare for the audit and will find it as straightforward as those in the pilot did.”
Bharat Patel, independent pharmacy contractor and member of the PSNC Negotiating Team, said:
“This has been an exasperating time for those pharmacies who had been planning to carry out the clinical audit this week. PSNC has been equally frustrated by the delays, and we have stressed to NHS England the importance of giving contractors adequate time to prepare for these sorts of things. However, we now have the paperwork, and from what I have seen and heard from the pharmacies involved in the pilots, I think that the audit will be straightforward for pharmacy teams to carry out. When we agreed the clinical audit with NHS England I was very excited about its potential; this will be the first national audit of its kind and if it can help to highlight an important but often unrecognised part of our work, showing the value we are delivering to patients, then I think it will pay dividends. I still believe this to be the case, and hope pharmacies will still really be able to get behind this audit.”
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