This month's key notes

Supporting you to deliver Pharmacy First

Pharmacy First is the result of years of lobbying by the NPA and other pharmacy leaders. The NPA is committed to supporting our independent pharmacy members to succeed with this strategically important service. Our practical help includes:

• NPA insurance will indemnify NPA members and Professional Indemnity and Legal Defence policy holders delivering the NHS Pharmacy First Service for no extra charge
• Standard operating procedures covering all three elements of the service
• An action plan and a summary of the drug treatments that can be supplied under the Pharmacy First Service PGDs
• Red flag and self-care crib sheets; training in the use of otoscopes and member rates for purchasing otoscopes that meet NHS England’s required specifi cation. Importantly, we’re also educating stakeholders – for example, patient groups and GPs – about the service. We will once again be exhibiting at the Primary Care Best Practice conference, targeting an audience of healthcare professionals and NHS managers.

Pre-reg recruitment isnow open

The only route for pharmacist pre-registration student (foundation year) recruitment is now through Oriel. The NPA has produced further guidance to help you prepare for registration for the 2025-26 cohort, which will be open until March 1.

Pharmacy Quality Scheme 2023/24

The Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) declaration window is now open on the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal and will close at 23:59 on March 1.

The NPA PQS pack is now available for you to support in ensuring you meet the PQS 2023/24 requirements. Our pack consists of:

• A sta training tracker, which is an Excel document to monitor your staff's progress on the various training elements of the criteria

• For each of the three Quality domains, we have published checklists allowing you to add in your submission answers before making your declaration on the MYS portal • Action plan templates for Domain 1 Palliative Care Medicines and Domain 3 AMS

• Data collection form templates for Domain 2 Respiratory and Domain 3 Prevention. Our PQS 2023/24 pack can be downloaded individually or as a full pack.

Visit our PQS 2023/24 hub to access our resources: www.npa.co.uk/services/pharmacy-quality-scheme/

A short message from the NPA’s new chief executive, PaulRees

I am new to the community pharmacy sector – having joined the National Pharmacy Association in November, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The innovation and passion I’ve witnessed already has been truly inspiring. I’ve been incredibly impressed with the dedication and clinical expertise I have seen on visits to NPA members across theUK. Pharmacies see an amazing 1.6 million patients every day and your commitment to the cause of excellent patient care is astonishing. So I am proud to be fighting your corner, along with the hard-working board and staff of the NPA. Times are tough, but we’ll be with you every step of the way.

NPA helps deliver ITV documentary on state of pharmacy in England

The NPA’s new chief executive Paul Rees told a hard-hitting ITV documentary there has been a £1.3 billion real terms fall in core pharmacy funding over the past decade. The funding model in England is broken, he said. We worked with ITV’s Tonight to bring the concerns of pharmacies about funding and the operational pressures they face to a prime-time audience. A number of NPA members featured heavily in the programme.

The NPA is constantly active on TV, radio, newspapers and online to promote the value of community pharmacy and to point out where the Government and the NHS need to step up with support. If you would like to take part in the NPA’s media activities, perhaps as a case study of good practice or to describe the frontline consequences of underfunding, please email press@npa.co.uk

Briefing Labour’s Health Team

Shadow Health & Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting MP (pictured) committed the Labour Party to working in partnership with community pharmacy during a third meeting between his team and the National Pharmacy Association. Recording a message for NPA members, he said: “We value you and we are committed to working in partnership to deliver great pharmacy services and get the NHS back on its feet.” NPA chief executive Paul Rees attended the meeting, which was hosted by NPA member Rishi Hindocha at Cherry Pharmacy in Northamptonshire.

National Patient SafetyAlerts

DHSC: Shortage of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) update

In response to the limited supplies of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), which has had a signifi cant impact on patients with Type 2 diabetes, an updated National Patient Safety Alert (NatPSA/2024/001/DHSC) has been issued, with actions to be completed by all clinicians and prescribers by March 28.

All organisations involved in prescribing and dispensing GLP-1 RAs are required to comply with the alert. The supply continues to be limited and is not expected to return to normal until at least the end of 2024. GLP-1 RAs must be prescribed for their licensed indications and the o -label use of these medicines for obesity is not recommended.

Valproate

Following the National Patient Safety Alert issued by the MHRA (NatPSA/2023/013/MHRA) introducing new regulatory measures for oversight of prescribing valproate-containing medicines to new patients and existing female patients, a series of new safety and educational materials have been introduced to support these measures.

The materials are suitable for men and women and healthcare professionals to reduce the harms from valproate, including the signifi cant risk of serious harm to babies if taken during pregnancy and the risk of impaired fertility in males.

The NPA resources to support you and your team in dispensing valproate-containing medicines safely and support ICBs and health boards to action the alert, including a knowledge article, SOP, risk assessment and checklist and patient leafl ets can be accessed at npa.co.uk/information-and guidance/.

Ear and throat training offer to support Pharmacy First

We have worked with our with long-standing clinical partner ECG to create low cost face to- face training for ear and throat practice. We have also developed e-learning for Pharmacy First, covering all conditions in the programme.

It is important to ensure contractors are not only competent but also confident to deliver Pharmacy First. This is especially important in the practice of ear and throat health and the use of appropriate equipment, where existing clinical knowledge may need to be enhanced with practical face-to-face training. NPA members can purchase Pharmacy First training packages with ECG Training at a discounted rate. There are two options available:

An e-learning module

• Covers clinical and diagnostic information on the conditions covered by the service

• Provides the theoretical knowledge for using otoscopes to carry out ear assessments and conducting throat assessments

• Available on-demand.

A blended course

• Combines the e-learning module with a face to- face session that covers the practical skills required to perform ear and throat assessments • New dates will be added on an ongoing basis. For both courses, there is an e-learning module covering the pathophysiology, symptoms, red fl ags and di erential diagnosis for the Pharmacy First conditions, as well as the knowledge for conducting ear and throat assessments. The module also covers the NICE tra c light system and how to assess patients using NEWS2.

Share your views on pharmacy supervision

As ever, we are interested in your opinions on the latest developments in pharmacy policy and practice. A government consultation on pharmacy supervision is now underway and could have profound effects in the not-too-distant future. Over the last year and more, the NPA has been working with other pharmacy bodies to achieve a consensus position.

If you are an NPA member who would like to help fi nalise our stance, please email independentsvoice@ npa.co.uk or contact your NPA board member.

Covid-19 vaccine delivery experience

As a core participant in module 4 of the Covid-19 inquiry, the NPA has the opportunity to share our experience of vaccination delivery to our patients. We would appreciate any information on how you delivered this key service, and the challenges and barriers you faced, including vaccine hesitancy. Any data provided will be anonymised.

Please help us by sharing your insights with Helga Mangion, NPA Policy Manager at independentsvoice@npa.co.uk.

Foundation training year (previously known as the pharmacist pre-registration training year)

In January 2021, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) published the revised Standards for the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists. Since July 2021, pre-reg pharmacists have been referred to as ‘trainee pharmacists’; pre-reg tutors are now referred to as ‘designated supervisors’ and the pre-reg year is now referred to as ‘the foundation training year’. As an employer, the way you recruit for your trainee pharmacist is changing. For the foundation training year 2025/2026, all trainee pharmacists must be recruited through the National Recruitment Scheme using Oriel.

Here’s some further information to help you prepare (applicable to England only):

Recruitment for 2024/2025 Recruitment for the foundation training year 2024/2025 remains unchanged. If you have chosen to follow the Oriel route, you would already have been made aware as to whether you have a trainee pharmacist. If you do not, you are still able to recruit through external means. This can include uploading and advertising your vacancy on the NPA webpage. In addition, you can speak directly with universities to circulate this information on your behalf.

Recruitment for 2025/2026

For the foundation training year 2025/2026, all trainee pharmacists must be recruited through the National Recruitment Scheme using Oriel. This scheme does not allow employers to select their prospective trainee pharmacist(s), and it is the only route to recruit a trainee pharmacist for the foundation training year 202025/2026. Registration for the foundation training year 2025/2026 cohort opened on January 11 and will close at 23:59 on March 1.

Those interested in supporting a trainee pharmacist will need to express an interest through the Oriel portal. The NPA has a dedicated webpage, with tips on how on to successfully recruit a trainee pharmacist using Oriel, to ensure you are provided with the support youneed.

Designated prescribing practitioner (DPP)

For the foundation training year 2025/2026, trainee pharmacists will become independent prescribers upon qualification. As the designated supervisor(DS), you will need to ensure your trainee pharmacist has access to a designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) – within your pharmacy or another sector. Trainees must complete 90 hours of learning focussed on developing and demonstrating the skills and capabilities of a prescribing practitioner.

Please note:

• The DPP can be the designated supervisor or someone else who works in conjunction with the designated supervisor

• The DPP does not have to be based in the primary training site where the trainee is employed

• The DPP does not have to directly supervise the trainee for the full 90 hours.

Contact the NPA for further information about becoming a DPP.

Cross-sector

We are already seeing a number of pharmacies reaching agreement with other sectors, such as hospitals and GP surgeries, to form cross-sector foundation training placements. Whilst this will not be mandatory in England for the trainee pharmacist intake 2025/2026, you may fi nd it useful to begin having conversations with colleagues in these sectors to gain an understanding of how you may be able to o er this to prospective trainees.

Payment

This will now be through a tariff payment that is the same for all sectors of practice and across all regions in England. As part of the changes, for the first time, in the 2025/2026 training year, all foundation training sites will be required to meet the same quality standards. Consequently, NHS England is taking on new responsibilities as delegated by the GPhC for the quality assurance of these training sites. In addition, NHS England is harmonising the funding that is available to all foundation training sites that are hosting a trainee pharmacist.

For more information on funding for the 2025/2026 training year, including Frequently Asked Questions, please visit the Implementing the Foundation Pharmacist Training Year 2025/26 page of the NHS England website.

LATEST NPA RESOURCES

NPA members should keep an eye on our resource hubs for the very latest business and practice resources, including:

• Pharmacy First www.npa.co.uk/ pharmacy-fi rst-service-england

• Independent prescribing www.npa.co.uk/independent-prescribing

• NHS Contraception service www.npa.co.uk/nhs-pharmacy-contraception-service

• Hypertension case finding www.npa.co.uk/services/hypertension-case-finding-advanced-service/

• Winter Resource Hub npa.co.uk/winter-health

• Patient Safety www.npa.co.uk/services-and-support/patientsafety-landing

Student and supervisor satisfaction scores

In 2023, the NPA’s commitment to enhancing student satisfaction reached new heights and our scores refl ect this. Throughout the year, our team implemented several updates to the NPA Learning Academy and more are planned for 2024. We also developed a new approach to secure feedback from supervisors. Overall student satisfaction increased to 92 per cent in 2023. Supervisor satisfaction reached 86 per cent, based on feedback from more than 500 supervisors.

Otoscopes for Pharmacy First

NHS England has confi rmed that pharmacies may start to deliver the Pharmacy First service even if they cannot yet provide the otitis media clinical pathway – provided they have evidence that they have ordered an otoscope and are awaiting delivery.

From April 1, an otoscope must be available and all clinical pathways must be provided. NPA members can order otoscopes for the Pharmacy First Service (England) from Medisave. Medisave offers NPA members a 10 per cent discount at checkout on selected otoscopes. (Remember to order additional disposable tips for your otoscope as they are brand specific; and don’t forget tongue depressors). View the otoscopes and details via this link: www.npa.co.uk/trustedpartners/medisave-uk-ltd/

Private ear and hearing healthcare services in pharmacy

Many pharmacies are adapting to deliver ear and hearing health services within the heart of their community. With the introduction of Pharmacy First and GPs scaling back ear and hearing health services, now may be a great time to benefit from the surging demand for these services.

Partner with NPA trusted partner TympaHealth and you could offer a convenient 30-minute appointment that encompasses ear examinations, hearing checks, and wax removal, if required. Check out the Trusted Partner section of the NPA website for more information.