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Sometimes things can go wrong, or we (Community Pharmacy Surrey and Sussex) fail to meet someone’s expectations of us. If you are unhappy with the service(s) or support provided by us or your LPC, it is important to let us know so we can improve.

Giving us feedback, or making a complaint are the two ways to tell us what you think. Read more.

More information

• • About us 
  • Contact us at lpc@communitypharmacyss.co.uk

CPE has a flu-hub where you can find everything you need for the flu season. These pages are updated when the season is underway. If you read these pages outside of the flu season you must check that any official documents are for the current year and season. Go to CPE’s flu-hub.

For more information 

• • CPE advice and FAQs on all aspects of providing this service, from training to getting paid and ordering vaccines to promoting your service.
  • Contact us at lpc@communitypharmacyss.co.uk

Community pharmacy contractors are required to demonstrate that all staff providing the service in their pharmacy have the skills needed to do so.

All pharmacy staff involved in the provision of the Flu Vaccination Service should receive appropriate training relevant to the role they will undertake. There is a free optional Flu Champion module for pharmacy staff to complete to enhance their knowledge in the provision of Flu vaccination which can support pharmacists with the service. The course includes a workbook, online assessment, certificate and Flu Champion badge. More information can be found here.

Vaccination training

National Minimum Standards and Core Curriculum for Immunisation Training for Registered Healthcare Practitioners sets the standards and lists the essential topics which should be incorporated into immunisation training for registered healthcare practitioners.

Pharmacists and other vaccinators who are delivering the flu vaccine must have completed practical training in vaccination that meets these requirements.

From the 2022/23, pharmacists and other vaccinators only need to attend face-to-face training for both injection technique and basic life support training periodically.

Contractors and vaccinators will now need to consider when it would be appropriate to attend refresher training or if ongoing competence of an individual vaccinator can be evidenced, without the need for face-to-face training.

An individual’s continued competence may be influenced by their prior experience vaccinating patients, including the overall number of vaccines administered and the regularity with which they administer vaccines.

It is recommended that vaccinators should keep a portfolio of completed competency checklists, knowledge test score sheets, reflective logs, completion of e-learning course certificates and certificates of attendance at immunisation training courses and updates. This will provide vaccinators evidence of completion of training and achievement of competence to both current and future employers.

Vaccinators are expected to undertake annual update training, to ensure their knowledge stays up to date with changes in practice and guidance. This may involve self-directed learning, using relevant references sources, such as the Green Book, online learning, or the annual flu letter.

The Flu vaccinator competency assessment tool, is used as a self-assessment tool, an assessment tool for use with a supervisor or both depending on the previous experience of the vaccinator.

The LPC are not offering any face to face training, however here are a number of organisations that provide vaccination training for pharmacists here are some of the providers (there are other providers available on CPE website here.

Here a sample of training providers listed other training providers are available

Avicenna 

ECG

NPA

Numark

For more information 

• • • CPE advice and FAQs on all aspects of providing this service, from training to getting paid and ordering vaccines to promoting your service.
    • For more information visit our “Advanced services” page here.
    • Contact us at lpc@communitypharmacyss.co.uk

Surrey has one formulary, whilst Sussex currently has four. The purpose of the formulary is to ensure prescribing is evidence based and cost effective.

For more information 

• Find links to each formulary here along with contacts for medicines management teams 

• • This article from the NHS Counter Fraud Authority sets out the risks of fraud, how to prevent fraud and report fraudulent use of prescription forms.
  • If you need to report instances of stolen or lost prescription forms (but no fraudulent use is suspected), please contact the police, Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer (CDAO) and Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS).
  • Contact us at lpc@communitypharmacyss.co.uk

We have been alerted to a number of fake letters on NHS and DHSC letterheads that have been sent to pharmacies.

Please be vigilant; take a moment to stop and think before parting with information that could keep your business or patients safe. Challenge: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or challenge any requests.

If you receive anything suspicious, or are contacted by someone in suspicious circumstances, please report the matter to the police or to Action Fraud. 

Suspicions of fraud against the NHS can also be reported anonymously and confidentially online here or by phoning the 24-hour fraud and corruption reporting line on: 0800 028 4060.

In November 2016, NHS England published Freedom to speak up in Primary Care – guidance to primary care providers on supporting whistleblowing in the NHS. It requires each contractor to name an individual as the ‘Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’ who can ensure that policies are in place and that staff know who to contact if they have a concern; this person must be independent of management within the pharmacy and not be the direct employer.

To support contactors across Surrey and Sussex, Julia Powell, our Chief Executive Officer, has agreed to be the Freedom to Speak up Guardian for independent contractors in the area if they wish. The role will include:

1. At their request, providing independent and impartial advice to the contractor’s staff on potential whistleblowing issues such as:

• • Poor clinical practice or other malpractice which may harm patients.
  • Failure to safeguard patients.
  • Maladministration of medications or dispensing errors.
  • Untrained or poorly trained staff.
  • Lack of policies creating a risk of harm. (noting that the first line of advice should be within the contractor).

2.  Access and authority to speak to anybody within the contractor’s organisation; and,
3.  Authority to report a concern externally, if required in accordance with professional standards.

Procedure for contractors wishing to nominate our chief executive officer as their Freedom to Speak up Guardian

• • Please download this Freedom to Speak Up Guardian form and complete the section highlighted in yellow.
  • Print two copies, sign as the contractor and send to CPSS with a copy of your whistleblowing policy.
  • We will then confirm back in writing with a copy of the agreement that this is now in place for your pharmacy.

For more information

• • See  CPEs dedicated whistleblowing webpage
  • Email lpc@communitypharmacyss.co.uk

Pharmacy owners and superintendent pharmacists are accountable for the outcomes of their inspection, so should ensure everyone in their teams is always suitably prepared to host a General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) inspection, including collecting evidence for inspection, continually renewing their evidence, and taking part in training.

The GPhC’s inspection report website is where you can find Pharmacy Inspection Reports. A searchable ‘knowledge hub’ has anonymised examples of excellent, good and poor practice.

More information

• • GPhC’s inspection report website

The Pharmacy First service, commenced on 31st January 2024, the service incorporates the elements of the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service, i.e. minor illness consultations with a pharmacist and the supply of urgent medicines (and appliances), both following a referral from NHS 111, general practices (urgent supply referrals are not allowed from general practices) and other authorised healthcare providers (i.e. patients are not able to present to the pharmacy without a referral).

What does the service involve?

The Advanced service involves pharmacists providing advice and NHS-funded treatment, where clinically appropriate, for seven common conditions Consultations for these seven clinical pathways can be provided to patients presenting to the pharmacy as well as those referred by NHS 111, general practices and others:

• sinusitis
• sore throat
• acute otitis media
• infected insect bite
• impetigo
• shingles
• uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women

Find out here how we are putting this national policy into local practice across Surrey and Sussex.

More information

• Email LPC@communitypharmacyss.co.uk
• See CPE website for nationally significant resources, briefings and guidance.

An important part of the community pharmacy contractual framework is that pharmacies participate in public health campaigns specified by NHS England every year. Read more.

For more information 

• • Contact us: lpc@communitypharmacyss.co.uk 

As healthy living pharmacies (HLP) contractors must have at least one full-time equivalent employee trained as a qualified health champion – usually a healthcare or medicines counter assistant –  yet many contractors across Sussex and Surrey may have overlooked this for their public-facing healthcare staff due to the pressures of the pandemic.

It’s important to be reminded that training employees no longer needs to be time-consuming and expensive, especially when there’s FREE training available.

We have joined forces with Health Education England (HEE) South East and award winning HLP specialists Pharmacy Complete to help you train up to three employees to be health champions with easily accessible training that they can take at their leisure. There is no cost for this training – it’s FREE! Click here to sign up.

Hypertension case-finding service has been commissioned as an Advanced Service from 1st October 2021.

The service specification and other details; additional information, guidance and support materials are available here.

Download the service specification

Service Directions & Determination
The Secretary of State Directions provide the legal basis for the provision of the service.

Download the service pathway

CPE Briefing 041/21: Guidance on the Community Pharmacy Hypertension Case-Finding Advanced Service.
This CPE briefing provides additional guidance for community pharmacy contractors and their teams on the service.

The service will have two stages – the first is identifying people at risk of hypertension and offering them blood pressure monitoring (a ‘clinic check’).

The second stage, where clinically indicated, is offering 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). The blood pressure test results will then be shared with the patient’s GP to inform a potential diagnosis of hypertension.

The following fees have been agreed:

• A set-up fee of £440;
• A fee for each clinic check of £15; and
• A fee for each ambulatory monitoring of £45.

In addition, the following incentive fees across Years 3, 4 and 5 of the CPCF 5-year agreement, will be available. Pharmacies must reach a threshold of ABPM activity to trigger the payment of the incentive fee.

• An incentive fee of £1,000 will be available if 5 ABPM intervention are provided in 2021/22;
• Followed by a payment of £400 in the subsequent years if the pharmacy reaches the thresholds for those years (15 ABPM interventions will be required in 2022/23 and 20 in 2023/24).
• Contractors who sign up after Year 3 must achieve the ABPM activity thresholds specified for the given financial year and will receive £1,000 as a first payment. If a contractor signs up in Year 3 and fails to do 5 ABPMs, they can earn £1000 by doing 15 ABPMs in Year 4.

Contractors must notify NHSE&I that they intend to provide the service by completion of an electronic registration through the NHS Business Services Authority’s (NHSBSA) application. Further information is available. 

To view an interactive map of pharmacies who have signed up for the service please click here.

• • Contact us at lpc@communitypharmacyss.co.uk

Recording and reporting patient safety incidents has been a requirement under the CPCF since 2005 and a framework is in place to facilitate this. 

• • Read current CPE guidance and download relevant forms.

For more information 

• • Contact us at lpc@communitypharmacyss.co.uk

This entry was updated September 2021

These resources support the latest IPC guidance, including social media assets and posters, to use at entrances of pharmacies to notify visitors that they still need to wear a face covering after the easing of legal restrictions relating to Covid-19 in September 2021.

For more information 

• • Contact us at lpc@communitypharmacyss.co.uk