Service Engagement Referral Services - (CPCS & GP2P)

The national CPCS service is continuing to refer patients into pharmacy  alongside our own local referral service GP2P in South Tyneside. 

It is vitally important that you or a staff member are regularly  checking for referrals.
Please note that  these  referrals will come through to you throughout the day via the new EMIS diary on the dedicated laptop for GP2P (in ST only), and via  PharmOutcomes for CPCS. 

Considering CPCS.

For a Minor Illness referral, the patient is required to contact the pharmacy within 12 hours (this could be by phone but will primarily be them visiting the pharmacy). For an Urgent Supply referral, the patient is advised to phone the pharmacy within 30 minutes of their referral. If you have not heard from the patient it is important that you try and make contact with them. If you are unable to contact the patient, you must record this on the referral and close appropriately. It is really important that you close all referrals using the appropriate outcomes to make sure the NHS are aware of the status/outcome. 

For GP2P service in ST.

The patient will attend at the dedicated time indicated on the diary. As this service contains elements above and beyond the normal low acuity conditions using PGDs it is vital that you are ready to deliver the service and have all necessary disposables (such as testing strips) available.

We anticipate that demand for referral  services will be high over the festive break, so it is important to start planning now to make sure the team are aware and ready to act upon referrals throughout this period and can offer the best level of care to your patients.

These services provide the opportunity for community pharmacy to play a bigger role than ever within the urgent care system and allow us to showcase the value we add to the NHS.
With the ever changing face of pharmacy, Gateshead and South Tyneside LPC, encourage all contractors to engage with not just these new services, but all services as fully as possible to ensure that they are a success for patients, your pharmacy,  and the wider community pharmacy network. 

Should anyone feel they need additional support, please contact us via our website.

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