Further to our news that Public Health England are going to commission a flu service through community Pharmacy please find below the latest update.
Service Specifications
This SLA is still being produced and is similar to last year however the main highlights are as follows
- Period of service - 1 September 2015 - 31 March 2016
- Fee - £12.64
- Patients aged 14 and above in at risk groups are included in the service this year
- The service will be managed via PharmOutcomes
- Training (See below)
Training
Although the SLA is still in draft form the extract below shows the training reauirements
The pharmacy contractor is responsible for ensuring the requirements for staff training arei n place and staff involved in the administration of the vaccine must:
- a) Have attended a formal immunisation training programme and have the necessary skills & competencies together with documented evidence of that training.This is to include vaccine administration, anaphylaxis recognition & treatment, basiclife support, cold chain integrity & infection control.
- b) If previously trained as specified in 6.1.1 (a), they must subsequently complete an annual update in the recognition and treatment of anaphylaxis together with basic life support.
- c) Pharmacists administering less than 30 vaccines in any preceding year mustrepeat full training as specified in 6.1.1 (a).
- c) Have completed training to work under PGDs.
- d) Have completed the CPPE e-learning programme ‘Safeguarding Children & Vulnerable Adults’ or its equivalent https://www.cppe.ac.uk/programmes/l/safegrding-e-01/
If you have not been trained before, you must attend formal training as stated in section a). If you have already undertaken this training, then you need to complete an annual update on anaphylaxis and basic life support. There is no stipulation about whether this is face to face or online. In addition, you must have completed appropriate safeguarding training. We are also expecting that section (c) be removed.
Novartis - LPC Commissioned Training
Those of you who trained with Novartis in previous years will have received an email from Novartis recently in which they advised that this year the company will not be providing flu training.
The LPC have spoken with Novartis and can confirm this is the case. They have provided the LPC with a list of alternative training providers. The list is provided below for your information. As well as the providers listed on the attachment, the LPC is looking to another local provider, (The QE Hospital in Gateshead) to provide training and a private PGD. The discussions are on going at the moment and we will issue details as soon as we can.
If you prefer to book your training with a different provider, please do so. There is no obligation to use LPC commissioned training as long as you fulfil the criteria in the service specification above.
Vaccine Stock
You should now also look to order your flu vaccines to ensure delivery for the start of the service on 1st September. You can use any brand of vaccination for providing the NHS vaccination service. Novartis will still be offering vaccines and you can order from them direct using the accounts that were set up last year. If you did not buy Novartis Vaccines last year you will need to contact them direct to set up an account.
********** 100% Pharmacy Coverage ***************
The commissioner of the service is looking togged 100% coverage through pharmacies this year. Last year 56% of Pharmacies in Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland provided the service. Many of these were new to the service but went on to do really well through it. The LPC would echo the commissioners comments that it would be great to see 100% coverage and we are here to help. If you have any concerns or queries please don't hesitate to contact us and we will support you to ensure your pharmacy is up and running and has a successful flu season.
The service has gone from strength to strength with each year seeing a doubling of the number of vaccines provided. Make sure your pharmacy is on board and not left out of this success.
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Alternative Training Providers
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