PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES

SPECIFICATION FOR:

Provision of Needle and Syringe Exchange

1 APRIL 2014 to 31 MARCH 2017

1.1 / CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
B&NES Council Representative:Carol Stanaway, Substance Misuse Commissioning Manager
Provider’s Representative:Pharmacy Manager
1.2 / AIM OF THE SERVICE
To promote safe injecting practice, reduce transmission of infections by substance misusers by providing sterile needles syringes and sharps containers in return for used equipment andact as a gateway to other relevant services.
1.3 / DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE
What is the service
  • Provide access to sterile needles and syringes and sharps containers, promote return of used equipment, promote safe injecting practice and reduce transmission of infections to and by substance misusers.
  • To provide service users support and advice including referral to other health and social care professional and specialist drug and alcohol treatment services if appropriate, proceeding as gateway to other services.
  • To provide health advice and information, including written material where relevant and to encourage alternatives to injecting, in order to reduce the rate of blood-borne infections and drug related deaths among service users and reduce the rate of sharing and other high risk injecting behavior. Provide harm reduction messages including safe sex advice and advice on overdose prevention.
  • To ensure the safe disposal of used injecting equipment in order to prevent the spread of blood-borne infections.
  • To maximise the access and retention of all injectors, especially the highly socially excluded.
  • To encourage patients that access the needle exchange and are receiving opiate substitution treatment, to discuss this with their doctor or key worker and give information about harm reduction, if possible.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE IN PLACE
Pharmacist Responsibilities
  • All pharmacists and staff involved in the provision of the service to the public must have a DBS check
  • To work to the aims and objectives outlined within this agreement
  • To ensure that the service is provided in a user-friendly, non–judgmental, client-centred and confidential way, and with sufficient level of privacy and safety
  • To produce a Standard Operating Procedure that complies with this
specification
  • To guarantee the availability of trained staff including Locums providing the service and who are aware of the risk associated with handling returned used equipment.
  • To attend appropriate meetings with prescribers and representatives within Bath and North East Somerset e.g. from Drug and Alcohol Team (B&NES DAAT), Local Pharmaceutical Committee and drug and alcohol treatment providers to discuss the management of drug dependence.
  • To keep and submit quarterly registration records to B&NES DAAT Recovery Provider (DHI). Information about gender, age, truncated post code, ethnic group, injecting drug of choice and numbers of packs given out and numbers of returns - see Appendix 1.
  • To liaise with the Recovery Provider (DHI) to receive injecting equipment necessary for service users accessing the needle exchange programme and agree equipment usage levels.
  • To take part in Harm Reduction campaigns.
  • To attend one B&NES DAAT training session per year as detailed.
  • To comply with the following monitoring requirements:
● The NHS Code of Conduct and Royal Pharmaceutical Society of
Great Britain Code of Ethics
● All patient records will be treated as confidential
● Anonymised information may be used for research, audit and
monitoring purposes
● Pharmacists may be required to undertake an annual audit of the
Service
  • To provide professional judgment in order to proceed under the next situations:
  • information share with other drug service providers (ie service user using alcohol abusively)
  • Quantity of needles given out per exchange.
DAAT Responsibilities
  • To ensure prompt payment of:
  • Fees per pack paid quarterly
  • Annual fee at the end of the year
  • To Commission the Recovery Provider to act as B&NES DAAT agent for the ordering, collection of stock and facilitate any community safety needs of the pharmacy in terms of client contact.
  • To provide information on local services and key contractors for Community Pharmacies SDAS, and DHI.
USERGROUP
Any B&NES resident who is injecting illicit drugs.
DAYS/HOURS OF OPERATION
The service will be offered within the normal pharmacy opening hours.
EQUIPMENT/FACILITIES
Safe and secure working environment for clinical and non-clinical staff including a private consultation room which will be used where appropriate to maintain client’s privacy and dignity.
SUPPORT FOR PHARMACIES
The Drugs & Alcohol Team will:
  • Pharmacists should phone DHI (Recovery Provider) with any queries or concerns and to order new equipment and arrange for the disposal of used equipment.
  • DHI will visit pharmacists at least annually to provide updated information and training on site and to obtain feedback on the service.
  • Feedback will be used to identify training/support needs of pharmacists and
deliver an information awareness training event. Pharmacists and dispensers will be invited and it is a requirement that at least one pharmacist from each pharmacy must attend the annual training.
Signed for and on behalf of Bath and North East Somerset Council / Signed for and on behalf of Pharmacy
Authorised Signatory
Signature……………………………………
Name: …………………………………
Position: ……………………………….
Date:…………………………………… / Authorised Signatory
Signature……………………………………
Name: …………………………………
Position: * ……………………………….
Date:……………………………………
In the presence of:-
Signature……………………………………
Name: …………………………………
Position: ……………………………….
Date: / In the presence of:-
Signature……………………………………
Name: …………………………………
Position: ……………………………….
Date:

* If a limited company a Director/Company Secretary to sign.

APPENDIX 1

BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET DRUG AND ALCOHOL TEAM
CLAIM FOR THE PROVISION OF NEEDLE AND SYRINGE EXCHANGE / PUT YOUR PHARMACY STAMP IN THE BOX BELOW
NAME OF PHARMACY
ADDRESS
CLAIM FOR: (HIGHLIGHT ): / Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4
PATIENT INITIALS / GENDER / YEAR OF BIRTH / Truncated postcode (eg BA2) or area of Bath (eg Twerton, Weston) or town (eg Radstock) / ETHNIC GROUP / INJECTING DRUG OF CHOICE e.g. heroin, steroids etc / TOTAL NO. OF VISITS DURING QUARTER PER CLIENT / TOTAL NUMBER OF PACKS OF 1ml COMPLETES GIVEN OUT(OR STATE WHERE DIFFERENT PACKS OF NEEDLES ARE PROVIDED) / AS THIS IS A NEEDLE EXCHANGE SERVICE IT IS EXPECTED THAT ALL CLIENTS WILL RETURN A PACK FOR PACK.*
TOTAL NUMBER OF PACKS RETURNED
Please return this completed form by to ……………………………
If you have any queries please phone 01225 …………….

*Where a client does not return used needles you may use your professional discretion to supply clean needles and to refer the client to DHI’s needle exchange in order that the harm reduction message and responsibilities may be discussed.