A letter from Northern Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer, dated 27 August 2024 has been uploaded to the primary care intranet outlining new restrictions to the use of Puberty Supressing Hormones (Puberty Blockers) in NI. A press release outlining the restrictions has also been published on the Department’s website.
The Department of Health in NI has now joined with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in England and introduced emergency restrictions on the use of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues used to suppress puberty as part of treating gender incongruence or gender dysphoria in children and young people who are under 18 years of age.
These emergency restrictions for Northern Ireland take effect from 27 August 2024, and will last for 3 months and cease at the end of 26 November 2024.
A consultation process will be undertaken in the meantime to assess the permanent position. Note: CPNI will be considering the consultation proposals.
Full information on the nature of the restrictions, including the relevant drugs, circumstances where exemptions apply, as well as resources for patients and pharmacists, are outlined in the CMO letter.
ACTION
Contractors should:
Read and note the contents of the CMO letter and share with relevant members of the pharmacy team.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the CPNI team.
Kind regards,
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Reminder: Many thanks to those contractors who have joined the contractor WhatsApp groups to date. For those who still wish to join a group, please click the link(s) corresponding to your area.
Dear Contractor,
CPNI is facilitating the establishment of Contractor WhatsApp Groups to help support communication and to encourage engagement on key community pharmacy topics, at a local level.
Previously established groups will continue in the interim to facilitate day-to-day pharmacy business related discussions.
Contractors are invited to join the WhatsApp groups relevant to their pharmacy(ies) by clicking the link below to the area(s) in which they would like to be included. Please note that these groups are open to contractors only or a nominated staff member. It will be for contractors to decide who they share the joining link with.
We would ask you to please state your name, pharmacy and role when joining the group.
CPNI has been contacted by the Pharmacy Professionals Incubator, a three-year project supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The project team are currently examining ways to increase the levels of research conducted by and within the pharmacy profession. Part of this work will involve focus groups with pharmacists and technicians from each sector. Community pharmacists and community pharmacy technicians are invited to join the focus group on Tuesday 24 September 7pm-8.30pm. Participants will receive a £50 voucher for their time. Further information, including the link to register an interest in participation is included in the flyer.
Pharmacy Incident Reporting Form
This is a reminder to contractors and their teams that incidents that occur in the pharmacy should be reported to the Department of Health using the following form. Whilst the form references details of robberies and attempted robbery, the form can be used to highlight any adverse incident that has occurred in the pharmacy.
Recurrent funding has been secured for the Pharmacy First UTI Service to allow continued provision via community pharmacy.
458 community pharmacies are contracted to provide the service, and 106 of these pharmacies have yet to submit any consultations.
Resources to support service delivery are available on the BSO website and can be accessed here.
Patient feedback in relation to the Pharmacy First UTI Service has been very positive, and SPPG are asking contractors to continue to encourage patients to complete a survey using the following link or via the QR code detailed in the letter.
NIECR access is a key component of service delivery, and recent correspondence in relation to this can be referred to here.
Pharmacists who are qualified prescribers can provide the service using their own HSC prescription pad. Independent prescribers are encouraged to use their qualification when appropriate to do so, and can contact Siobhan O’ Hare at SPPG for further information.
ACTION
Contractors should:
Read and note the SPPG correspondence and share with relevant members of the pharmacy team.
Contact the relevant SPPG local office for further support if required.
For those contracted pharmacies who require additional support to provide the Pharmacy First UTI Service, CPNI colleagues can also be contacted via email.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Colleague,
CPNI representatives met with Mr. Mike Nesbitt MLA, DoH(NI) Minister of Health and officials yesterday afternoon.
At the meeting, the Minister acknowledged the contribution of community pharmacy in supporting patients and the health service and he said that community pharmacy was a key sector in the reform of health services as recommended under the Bengoa review. He also reaffirmed the budgetary pressures and shortfall facing the health service this year.
In relation to community pharmacy funding and the additional costs that are being incurred as a result of NMW/NLW etc. his lead Departmental professional lead disappointedly stated that, excluding potentially some winter pressures services funding, there would be no additional funding for Community Pharmacy in 2024/25 over and above the opening £147m funding allocation as outlined to Contractors in the SPPG letter on 25th Apr’24.
CPNI outlined that fundamental differences between NI and other parts of the UK have not been factored into the community pharmacy funding allocation and that an agreed way forward was required to enable community pharmacy to support patients and the health service in a sustainable manner.
CPNI Directors will now fully consider the matters discussed at the Ministerial meeting at the September CPNI Board meeting, with Contractors being kept fully informed on next steps going forward.
Thank-you.
Yours sincerely,
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
WhatsApp Business Terms of Service can be found here and privacy policy hereUCA-NI Privacy Policy We take your privacy seriously and do not share or sell any personal details with third parties for commercial purposes. If you have any questions, please contact the CPNI office. You can withdraw your consent to be contacted at any time by calling 028 9069 0444 or by emailing info@communitypharmacyni.co.uk. CPNI Data Protection Policy and Data Retention policy can be found Click Here
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
