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Launched on 29 October 2019, the NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) is a new NHS Advanced Service introduced for provision in community pharmacies in England.
Urgent action is required to avoid missing out on an opportunity to improve your pharmacy income
The service, which replaces the NUMSAS and DMIRS pilots, will connect patients with community pharmacy who have minor ailments or need an urgent supply of a medicine. Each completed consultation is worth £14 to the pharmacy. Failure to register could mean a potential missed opportunity for income to the contractor.
If you haven’t already, we urge you to:
Register for the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal as non-registration will seriously affect claiming money for this month
Register to receive the Aspiration Payment as this will support your cash flow. Your claim needs to be made by the end of October and it will be received at the end of November. (Claims for referrals received from 29-31 October will need to be incorporated into the November 2019 submission claim.) Please note: you will need to complete your MYS registration first in order to receive the Aspiration Payment.
Don’t hesitate as you will need to register by Sunday 1 December to receive the £900 transitional payment
General advice:
The NPA urges independent community pharmacies to engage with the service, whilst recognising the many challenges they already face and the pressures on their time. We want pharmacies to be better integrated with other health services and recognised as the front door to health care in every neighbourhood; the CPCS fits with that vision.
Watch this short message from NPA Board Member Nick Kaye on why he has registered for the service:
Next steps:
Ensure that you and your pharmacy team read and understand the essential documents listed, particularly the Service Specification and the Toolkit
Make sure you understand the service flow and the role of the
community pharmacy in urgent care
Ensure that you have registered on the MYS portal and registered to deliver the CPCS
Ensure you have access to SCR, NHSmail and the CPCS IT system
Ensure that you and your team are trained and up-skilled
Ensure that you and your pharmacists know how to use NHSCKS to support clinical assessment of patients
Ensure that all pharmacists are up-to-date with emergency supply regulations and how they apply under CPCS
Have relevant SOPs in place. Create your SOP for the service, including key contact details (a template is available)
Use the NPA resources to support implementation of CPCS
Wider advice and implementation guidance
NHS CPCS – getting ready to provide the service:
Pharmacy Teams:
All pharmacy team members involved in provision of the service must be appropriately trained on the operation of the service. Consider:
holding a briefing session for your team
providing them with the one-page CPCS Service Overview on how the service will work (Appendix A of the NHS CPCS toolkit)
discussing as a team how you can work together to make the service a success
making sure team members and locums are clear on the daily activity required, such as checking for referrals
making sure team members and locums know how to identify a walk-in patient who may have been referred from NHS 111
Locums:
Consider locums’ ability to provide the service when making bookings
it is of critical importance that locum and relief pharmacists are made aware that the pharmacy is providing the service before they work at the premises
they MUST understand the service specification and SOP, and be able to provide the service
they need to have SCR access and know how to use the CPCS IT system
Primary Care Networks (PCN) – PQS
Read and implement the PCN-PQS guidance in PSNC Briefing 047/19 regarding how to fulfill on this important part of the PQS requirements
Connect with your LPC colleagues to ensure that you understand what approach they have been taking to enable your completion of this
Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) Engagement
LPCs are urging contractors to register for the MYS portal and Aspirational Payment as a failure to register could mean a potential loss of income to the contractor. It’s also vital for contractors to demonstrate support so other new services will be directed to us going forward
More broadly connect with your LPC to understand what CPCF steps are in place and ensure you avail yourself of all material support
Professional Development
Consider what CPD or refreshing of skills could help you provide the service the NHS CPCS self-assessment tool can help you do this. All related content has been tagged on CPD Hub. Pro tip: Members are also able to enter ‘CPCS’ into the search bar to find all related content
Consider how the introduction of the [CPCS/CPCF] can impact on those team members currently in learning; HLC Addendum has been published
Pharmacists can also take advantage of the continuing professional development offer on the CPPE website
On Demand content Access webinar recordings to view on demand, plus FAQs and additional resources.
You, me and the new funding agreement: what the CPCF means to you – Originally broadcast on 18 September
Understand how the contract changes will affect your business and what you could or should be doing right now to prepare. Hear from other contractors what they are already doing, what they plan to do next and how they are working to get engagement locally to adopt the new framework. This is a practical session designed to answer your questions and help you to think through steps for your pharmacy. This webinar forms part of the Contract and Funding webinar series, find out more here
Watch Andre Yeung and Mike Maguire talk about the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service earlier this month at the Pharmacy Show 2019; click here to view
The new five-year deal for community pharmacy in England was announced in July 2019 by PSNC, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. Access NPA guidance and support here
A summary of the mandatory and recommended training requirements under the different parts of the CPCF for all members of the pharmacy team and pharmacists involved in service delivery