LPC Meeting Report

Attendee/s: / Mike Keen, Barrie Smith, Mike Hedley, Amanda Marshall, Fouad Lawal, Claire Manning, Janice Moorkite, Kimberley Collins, Gurpreet Virdi (representing Canterbury and Ashford)..
NOT Represented: Medway CCG, South Kent Coast CCG.
Event Title and date: / Meeting to Discuss Transfer of NHS E Services Delivered by Community Pharmacy, From NHS E to CCGs.
Held at Wharf House, 17th March 2016
Name of host organisation: / NHS E
1. / Overview description of the event and expected benefits of attendance.
As above-Not all CCGs believe they need to recommission services which NHS E is serving notice on at the end of this financial year. They may recommission earlier and in the case of anticoagulation the service ends September 2016.
Stephen Ingram has stated that the budget held at NHS E will go over to CCGs and the PGD cannot be extended any further.
2. / Significant Outcomes/Insights
Anticoagulation Service:
-AM will send a note to contractors stating they are working towards a change in September.
-MH has sent a list of patients by pharmacy practice to the CCGs but not to the LPC. MK asked for a summary of this without patient details. The service now provides for 4000 patients across Kent.
-NHS E producing a letter for community pharmacies providing the service to give to patients that explains what is happening and a poster to put up in pharmacies.
-Some hospitals are still initiating patients in their area. CCGs may look to move this to primary care.
-Service payments made by KPCA up to last June. Payments now made by Capita with NHS England.
-Prescribers-Canterbury and Ashford have a list of pharmacists on the prescribing course. NHS E and the LPC to agree how to survey other pharmacists on the prescribing course. They and Thanet will use the same spec. which is being finalised and will be going out to pharmacies and surgeries in two weeks’ time.
Swale has sent out a proposed draft spec for a new service and currently have two Boots pharmacies involved in their service. Most is a postal service which will change. The LPC has commented on the draft spec.
-MH will correspond with surgeries to clarify what is happening.
Palliative Care Service
West Kent are to use the KCHFT Just in Case Box.
Currently DGS CCG has not approved the JIC box approach. Swale not adopting and not sure N Kent Coast will either.
East Kent is implementing the JIC box across the area and CCGs.
Pharmacies supply medicines for the box against an NHS prescription and a nurse assembles and seals the box. The box is placed in the patient’s home.
GPs are being advised NOT to write JIC on any urgent prescriptions for palliative care medication.
After use or expiry nurse returns the box to the pharmacy.
Other Services
MAR and MDS Service-BJS advised CCGs to contact social services about this service which was predominantly supplied in Eastern Kent. MDS is NOT and NHS service and if the CCGs discontinue then pharmacies will have little choice but to start charging for it especially as our income is being cut back significantly.
Common or Minor Ailments.
  • MK asked that the current Medway scheme be taken separately as the scheme currently exceeds budget by a significant margin which is not replicated elsewhere.
  • MK advised the existence of the W Kent service audit which demonstrates possible savings.
  • Janice Moorkite advised this will be useful for the W Kent event for self-care.

3. / Recommended follow-up actions
  • MK and MH will have to contact schools of pharmacy to ascertain how many prescribing pharmacists are due to qualify as this is only held at the Universities in Kent Surrey and Sussex whereas it is held at Health Education England for London.
  • MK has alerted Healthwatch to the coming changes to anticoagulation services.
  • Manage changeover to patients paying for MAR/MDS services if CCGs do not commission a service. Advise CC and KCC.
  • MK share results of W Kent CAS audit.

4. / Any Other Observations, Actions.
Next meeting will be end of May/early June.

Page 1 of 1

The local voice of Community Pharmacy Contractors in Kent