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NHS North of England Commissioning Support
John Snow House
Durham University Science Park
Durham
DH1 3YG
13th August 2015
Ms Liz Panton
Email Only
Dear Ms Panton
Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Request for Information–North of England Commissioning Support Unit
Thank you for your request received by North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) on16th July 2015for information held under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please find the information you requested on behalf of NECS as follows;
1) Is the NECSU still monitoring the issue of marketing companies "cold calling" NHS patients in order to persuade them to nominate a distant pharmacy to dispense prescriptions by post? In general and, more specifically, the company "Pharmacy Initiative Ltd" and any other companies also using the telephone numbers 0191 580 0203 and 0845 862 2331.
NECS reply: NECS is not currently monitoring any such companies.
2) What action, if any, was taken by NECSU with regard to the outfit which was recorded by numerous NHS patients and NHS bodies in the the North East as trading as "NHS Pharmacy Initiative Ltd", ie. its fraudulent use the NHS trademark, which was effectively duping NHS patients into thinking that they were dealing with an NHS agency? Please include direct actions as well as any indirect actions, such as reporting to or liaison with the Police, Trading Standards, NHS Protect and the Dept of Health.
NECS reply: We have not taken any actions in relation to fraudulent use of the NHS trademark and hold no information on this issue. Nor do we hold any information concerning actions taken by us in relation to “NHS Pharmacy Initiative Ltd”. A search at Companies House reveals that there is no company registered in the UK as “NHS Pharmacy Initiative Ltd”. Please see. If your request concerns action taken by us in relation to the “Pharmacy Initiative Scheme” please let us know.
3) What action, if any, does the NECSU intend to take against "Pharmacy Initiative Ltd", which is currently "cold calling" NHS Patients in the North East, describing the calls as being "from the NHS" and apparently misleading NHS patients into believing that they are dealing with a legitimate NHS body? (I received a call of exactly this nature on 15 July 2015 from “Pharmacy Initiative Ltd”.) Please include direct actions as well as any indirect actions, such as reporting to or liaison with the Police, Trading Standards, NHS Protect and the Dept. of Health.
NECS reply: We do not hold information concerning any intended actions by us against “Pharmacy Initiative Ltd”. As above, a search at Companies House reveals that there is no company registered as “Pharmacy Initiative Ltd”. Please see .
4) From its dealings directly, indirectly or via its solicitors, with "NHS Pharmacy Initiative", "Pharmacy Initiative" and "Healthcare Initiative", could you clarify whether these are different bodies or all the same body operating under different names?
NECS reply: We are not able to answer this question as we do not hold this information. You can however check the names of companies registered in the UK at Companies House. Please see .
5) Please detail the current "working relationship" and "liaison" between NECSU, any of the above companies ("NHS Pharmacy Initiative", "Pharmacy Initiative" and "Healthcare Initiative") and any other outfits involved with cold-calling NHS Patients in order to "sign them up" to have repeat prescriptions dispensed?
NECS reply: We have no current working relationship or liaison with any organisations involved with cold-calling NHS patients to "sign them up" to have repeat prescriptions dispensed.
6) What, if any, actions have been taken by the NECSU in terms of reporting or liaison about these issues with the national Electronic Prescription Service? That is, of marketing companies "cold calling" and misleading NHS patients into believing that they are dealing with someone "from the NHS" or "from NHS Direct" or "from NHS Pharmacy" etc.
NECS reply: NECS has not reported or liaised with the providers of the Electronic Prescription Service in relation to these issues.
7) What is the NESCU evaluation of risks, to individual NHS patients and to the integrity of the NHS brand in terms of public trust, from the apparently unfettered operation of these marketing companies? That is, in terms of NHS patients being misled into believing that they are talking to someone "from the NHS" when a commercial marketing company is recruiting them by telephone into a contract with a distant pharmacy of which they have no prior knowledge?
NECS reply: We have not evaluated the risks associated with the issues which you have raised and therefore do not hold this information. This appears to be a request for NECS to provide an opinion on these issues which is not something we are required to do under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
8) What is your advice for NHS patients when they receive calls of this nature, in terms of response and reporting? Do you intend to publish any advice in the near future?
NECS reply: NECS does not have any direct contact with NHS patients, in terms of response and reporting, and consequently we do not hold any such advice and do not currently intend to publish any such advice.
In line with the Information Commissioner’s directive on the disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 your request will form part of our disclosure log. Therefore, a version of our response which will protect your anonymity will be posted onthe North of England Commissioning Support (NECS)website.
If you have any queries or wish to discuss the information supplied, please do not hesitate to contact me on the above telephone number or at the above address.
Any information we provide following your request under the Freedom of Information Act will not confer an automatic right for you to re-use that information, for example to publish it. If you wish to re-use the information that we provide and you do not specify this in your initial application for information then you must make a further request for its re-use as per the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 . This will not affect your initial information request.
Yours sincerely
Joanne Appleby
Joanne Appleby
SeniorGovernance Officer