New and easy to use templates of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are now available for you to download on the NPA website at npa.co.uk/sops. Our templates have been designed with you as busy pharmacists in mind; we understand that lengthy, complicated SOPs are harder to use and implement effectively.

Delegation – making the most of your support team

The core of our newly designed template SOPs is delegation, meaning pharmacists can delegate various duties to appropriately trained pharmacy team members and free up time to make the most of your business through offering additional services such as flu and travel vaccinations. Within the new folder, flow diagrams highlight what stages a pharmacist is needed to undertake a specific task, meaning responsibilities can be delegated through the workforce with clarity as to which individual is in charge of each task.

This will further motivate employees to perform to their fullest potential as there is no confusion in what a task entails creating
a highly efficient workforce. Listening to our members via our Pharmacy Services team gives us a unique insight into the day-to-day issues a pharmacist may encounter, so we have now added SOPs
to cover such queries. By looking at trends we found that many enquiries are related to monitored dosage systems (MDS) and we have now included a specific SOP just for MDS in our latest update.

NEW AND POPULAR NPA RESOURCES
Moreover our safeguarding SOP has been updated and made more concise, saving you time and lowering the chance of errors. SOPs are essential in ensuring patient and employee safety – ignoring crucial information can have grave consequences.

Our new SOPs are presented in a way that allows the processes to be easily understood and implemented.

We have also included new SOPs for Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), patient safety and delivering medicines to help your pharmacy keep up to date with best practices.

We will continue to update and add to our SOPs, so be sure to keep current with all the information available to you as an NPA member.

NEW AND POPULAR NPA RESOURCES

NEW – Medicines shortages

Haloperidol capsules 500mcg Serenace, in 30 packs, have been added to the NPA’s medicines shortages lists. The list is refreshed every Monday on the NPA website.

NEW – Supporting Welsh Members

Supporting members in Wales Through Change has been created to help members maximise income and efficiency through significant change.

NEW – Medication Safety Officer Report
The latest report, which recorded
a spike in dispensing errors around escitalopram and esomeprazole, has been published.

MDS systems resources

A suite of standard operating procedures to support pharmacy teams who supply medicines in monitored dosage systems is now available.

Dispensing veterinary prescription items
An SOP setting out the dispensing processes to be followed when dispensing veterinary prescriptions has been published.

Dispensing prescription items

A new standard operating procedure sets out the dispensing processes to be followed when dispensing prescriptions.