 The LPC is delighted to announce that the CNTW (Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear) directorate of commissioning plan to commission pharmacists in the region to deliver the adult seasonal flu programme again in 2014/15.
This will build on the excellent work last year when 49% of the pharmacies in CNTW delivered 15,603 seasonal flu immunisations – a 95% increase on performance in 2012/13. Overall the a total of 400,000 flu immunisations were delivered in CNTW in 13/14. Claire Bradford, Head of Public Health, CNTW Area Team said "We hope that we can build on the excellent work from last year. We want to focus on increasing the uptake in the under 65 at risk groups and pregnant women. Last year across CNTW the overall uptake in under 65s at risk was 56.4% and pregnant women 42.2%. Whilst we have good uptake in the over 65 year age group (75.7%) we need to reach many more of the under 65s at risk and pregnant women. We think that pharmacies are well placed to increase uptake in these groups. Flu immunisation of pregnant women : reduces rates of influenza among pregnant women; may reduce the likelihood of prematurity and smaller infant weight at birth; provides passive immunity against flu to infants in the first few months of life." The LPC are working with the area team on the detail of the service and will make this available as soon as we can in the meantime we would like to take this opportunity to encourage ALL pharmacies to consider offering the service this year and start their preparations from now. Dave Carter, Chairman of Gateshead & South Tyneside LPC Said "This is a fantastic opportunity for Community Pharmacy and we would like to see all pharmacies in the area signed up to the service and help to make an impact on the uptake to immunisations." Below is some information for you start preparing for this years service. Should you have any queries please don't hesitate to get in touch me. Thanks Sami Training If you have access to flu training (In house or via a training organisation) please make sure you get yourself trained or registered for training as soon as you can. The LPC will be working with Novartis again this year to offer training. Details for this will follow shortly. Stock We would also encourage you make arrangements from now to ensure you have adequate stocks of Vaccine. PharmOutcomes Make sure you have got access to PharmOutcomes. Current Flu Information Below are some flu related links for your information. The national DH flu guidance/letter is now available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/316007/FluImmunisationLetter2014_accessible.pdf The at risk groups this year include people with learning disabilities. This week’s vaccine update includes link to posters which can be used https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/320026/8905_PHE_VU_216_June2014_07.pdf
0 Comments
Important News on LATE PAYMENT OF PHARMACY SERVICES (Minor Ailments & MAR Charts) - Action Needed20/5/2014 Gateshead & South Tyneside LPC met with Chris Sharpe (Finance Director at NECS) and Janette Stephenson recently to discuss the non payment of CCG commissioned services (Minor Ailments & MAR Charts).
Going Forward Following a robust discussion we agreed the following.
Historic Claims - Action Needed Contractors are well aware that they haven’t been paid correctly (if at all) for these professional services dating back to April 2013. Recently contractors resubmitted these claim, however the LPC has discovered that there are still problems with missing data - including professional fees. This will result in further underpayment. The LPC has brought this to NECS attention and asked for this be remedied asap. To this end a pre-popualted form will be sent from NECS in the near future (Next week) for you to double check and add in the missing data. (E.g. April 2013 to April 2014 claims and numbers of prescription forms submitted). Returning this will ensure you are paid promptly and fully for all CCG services delivered between April 2013 and April 2014. (13 months outstanding) We understand this will be frustrating for contractors as this will be the third time you will be submitting this data. The LPC made it perfectly clear that this was unacceptable and NECs have offered an 8% late payment compensatory fee for all outstanding monies. This will be automatically added. NECS have apologised sincerely and have agreed to work over time to process these payments as a matter of urgency. We urge all contractors to return the pre-populated forms as soon as they receive it. We appreciate this situation is not ideal however we believe the outcomes we have agreed will bring this matter to a close.  South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) wish to commission a service for the provision of an initiation, stabilisation, monitoring and dosing ‘One Stop Shop’ anticoagulant therapy service in a community setting for non-complex patients aged 16 and over. The aim of the service is to ensure patients receive anticoagulation therapy initiation and monitoring promptly, in line with the national service framework for coronary heart disease, and for patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) the NICE clinical guideline CG36. The purpose is to reduce inequalities in access to anticoagulation therapy, improve anticoagulation control in patients and reduce drug-associated complications.
The service will minimise the potential side effects of warfarin by providing patients with regular monitoring to stabilise the International Normalised Ratio (INR) levels while continuing to maximise the effective benefits of such treatment. The service will have equitable access, ensuring that patients are treated with dignity and respect, are fully informed about their care and are able to make decisions about their care in partnership with healthcare professionals. The service is to commence from 1st September, 2014 and contracts will be awarded for 2 years to 31st August, 2016. The North of England Commissioning Support Unit (NECS) and the CCGs intend to hold a provider information event. This will be an opportunity for potential providers to raise questions/queries about the service and gain an understanding of the procurement process. The event will be held on Monday 31 March 2014, 12-2pm at the MPH Training and Conference Centre, Unit 2B, Stonehills Shield Road, Gateshead, NE10 0HW. If you wish to attend the event please register your organisation on the following eSourcing website: https://nhs-neps.bravosolution.co.uk. Registration on the portal is free and it can be accessed at any time of the day. The qualification questionnaire and supporting documents are available to download through BravoSolutions who are the managed service provider for the NECS e-tendering portal. The portal is available at https://nhs-neps.bravosolution.co.uk. It is free to register on the portal, and it can be accessed at any time of the day. Should you have any queries or if you are having problems registering on the portal, please contact the BravoSolution dedicated Supplier Helpdesk by calling 0800 368 4850 (Monday to Friday (9.00 am to 6.00 pm) or[email protected]. Supplier instructions on how to apply for this Tender 1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once) - Browse to the eSourcing Portal: https://nhs-neps.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register - Accept the terms and conditions and click 'continue' - Enter your correct business and user details - Note the username you chose and click 'Save' when complete - You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure). 2. Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the 'ITTs Open to All Suppliers' link. (These are Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevant ITT to access the content. - Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page. - This will move the ITT into your 'My ITTs' page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only) -You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'ITT Details' box 3. Responding to the tender - Click 'My Response' under 'ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the ITT - There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available) You must then submit your reply using the 'Submit Response' button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk. The closing date for submission of Tenders is 12 noon Monday 14 April 2014. Consistent with the national directive to extend patient choice to community services, NHS South of Tyne and Wear and the Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Groups will be commissioning an Anticoagulation Stabilisation and Monitoring Service for Non-Complex Patients using the Any Qualified Provider (AQP) process during 2012/13.
By choice of Any Qualified Provider they mean that when patients are referred (usually by their GP) for a particular service, they should be able to choose from a list of qualified providers who meet NHS service quality requirements, prices and normal contractual obligations. This approach is already in place for routine elective procedures. Extending patient choice of provider is intended to empower patients and carers, improve their outcomes and experience, enable service innovation and free up clinicians to drive change and improve practice. In securing services under the AQP process assurance of competence, quality and safety standards is required. Any provider will be eligible to join the qualified provider list subject to demonstrating competency against specified criteria. Qualified providers will be expected to deliver the service under the NHS Standard Contract for a defined length of time, with payment based on actual provision. Commencement of the service will be 30th September 2012. The North East Procurement Service will be hosting an Anti-Coagulation Service Market Engagement Event on behalf of NHS South of Tyne and Wear and NHS North of Tyne on: 30th May, 6pm – 8pm, at The Quadrus Centre, Boldon Colliery, NE35 9PF. OR 31st May, 6pm – 8pm at Bevan House, Great Park,Newcastle, NE13 9BA. The aim of the event is to engage with the market in respect of the Any Qualified Provider process and guidance on completion of documentation, with an overview of the service requirement. This is in order to ensure the AQP process and Anti-Coagulation Service and its scope are fully understood prior to the release of the AQP offer. To register your interest in attending the Market Engagement Event, please ensure that you register on the eTendering system BravoSolutionshttps://nhs-neps.bravosolution.co.uk and complete and return the Market Engagement Event – Submission of Interest Form and return via the messaging system; no later than 12 noon on the 18th May. |
Copies of our older Paper Based News Letters (The LPC News) can be found by clicking below.
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
