COVID-19: 31st July round-up for primary care
Staying safe during Eid Al-Adha
Last night marked the beginning of Eid Al-Adha for our Muslim colleagues and we would like to wish you and your loved ones Eid Mubarak. This online video session from the Muslim Council of Britain is tailored for mosque leaders on how best to prepare for Eid safely, covering key lessons learned from congregational prayers across the UK thus far and health and safety advice. Public Health England have also written a blog around staying safe for Eid Al-Adha. Please do share these resources in your communities.
‘Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately…’ Sahih Bukhari, vol. 8, hadith 471
Self-isolation of health and care workers from high risk countries
From today (31 July), registered health and care professionals travelling to the UK from high risk countries will lawfully be required to self-isolate for 14 days. They will no longer be exempt. The move will bring health and care professionals in line with the general public and further protects the NHS and social care system from the spread of coronavirus from overseas, as signs of second waves begin to show in other countries.
The regulations are laid out by the Department for Transport (DfT). The current list of countries exempt from self-isolation measures is available on GOV UK. Health and care professionals returning from a country which has a travel corridor to the UK will not be required to self-isolate on return. Information on air corridors can be found here. This amendment to the regulations will ensure consistency with wider quarantine measures and continue to protect public health.
Updates to shielding guidance
From 1 August, shielding advice to those who have been identified as clinically extremely vulnerable is being relaxed and the national shielding programme is being paused. The updated guidance will be published on 1 August on GOV.UK and further details will be communicated in next week’s bulletin.
Individuals considered clinically extremely vulnerable will not receive another letter from the government to confirm these changes. The relaxation of shielding measures was communicated to everyone on the Shielded Patient List (SPL) in a letter from the government on 22 June, or more recently via their shielding letter if identified as clinically extremely vulnerable since then.
There may be exceptions to lifting the shielding guidance in parts of the country experiencing community outbreaks. Where specific local measures are in place, the local guidance should be followed. Individuals living in these areas will be informed by the government shielding service.
As per the letter to the NHS on 8 July, the Shielded Patient List will still be maintained while the shielding programme is paused, as the government may advise people to shield again if there is an increase in transmission of coronavirus in the community. It is essential that everyone who needs to access health services is supported to do so as services are restored. Individuals who have been shielding may be particularly anxious about attending health settings
Face covering exemptions
With face coverings now mandatory in many public places, we understand pharmacies have had patients contacting them seeking verification of exemptions from them. There is no requirement for an individual to prove that they have a valid case for exemption if they cannot wear a face covering, therefore, GPs are not expected to provide verification of exemptions.
It is not a legal requirement in health care settings for people to wear a face covering. Government advice says you should wear a face covering in enclosed spaces if you can, including places such as primary care services. However, a patient should not be refused entry to a premises or access to care if they are unable to, or refuse to, wear a covering. This should be clearly communicated to all patients.
Some people may feel more comfortable showing something that says they do not have to wear a face covering. This is a personal choice, and is not necessary in law, verbal communication of this is good enough. Template exemption cards are available for patients to print or download.
GPhC guidance on COVID-19 rapid antibody tests
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) issued a letter to community pharmacy owners and superintendent pharmacists on 21 July to highlight its position concerning the provision and sale of COVID-19 rapid antibody tests from community pharmacies.
It states that in the light of current public health advice, it is not appropriate for them to be sold in community pharmacies or recommended by pharmacy professionals at this point in time.
Interim Foundation Pharmacist Programme
Health Education England and NHS England and Improvement have written to employers about the new Interim Foundation Pharmacist Programme to help provisionally registered pharmacists transition to full General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) registration and beyond.
This new programme forms the first phase of pharmacist education and reform and is designed to build support around the current cohort of pre-registration pharmacists who will become provisionally registered pharmacists in August 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the training of the current cohort of pre-registration pharmacists, who have not had the full experience necessary for registration. The GPhC has decided to provisionally register this cohort, with the final assessment likely to take place later this year, with full registration to follow for those successful in the exam.
COVID-19: 6th August round-up for primary care
Annual Flu letter
The second annual flu letter was published on 5 August 2020 giving more details about this year’s expanded Flu Programme. This year, as part of our wider planning for winter, we intend to vaccinate more people than ever before in the existing eligible cohorts, and we are also offering the vaccine to:
- household contacts of those on the NHS Shielded Patient List. (Specifically, individuals who expect to share living accommodation with a shielded person on most days over the winter and therefore for whom continuing close contact is unavoidable).
- children of school Year 7 age in secondary schools (those aged 11 on 31 August 2020).
- health and social care workers employed through Direct Payment (personal budgets) and/or Personal Health Budgets, such as Personal Assistants, to deliver domiciliary care to patients and service users.
We aim to further extend the vaccine programme in November and December to include the 50-64 year old age group subject to vaccine supply. This extension is being phased to allow you to prioritise those in at risk groups first.
In light of the risk of flu and COVID-19 co-circulating this winter, the Flu Programme will be absolutely essential to protecting vulnerable people and supporting the resilience of the NHS. We thank you for your support in delivering it.
Roll out of Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) Phase 4
To help you prepare for winter, we are accelerating deployment of EPS Phase 4 which allows EPS to be used for patients without a pharmacy nomination. All GP practices using EPS with TPP SystmOne and EMIS Web will be live with Phase 4 by mid-September.
As more GP practices go live with Phase 4 over the coming weeks, pharmacies and other dispensers will see the majority of hand-signed FP10s replaced by Phase 4 tokens.
See full article in the EPS GP section below.
PPE orders for community pharmacies
From Wednesday 5 August 2020, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will be emailing community pharmacies, inviting them to register with the PPE portal. The portal has been developed by DHSC in partnership with eBay UK, NHS Supply Chain, the Army, Clipper and Royal Mail.
Emails will come from PPE Dedicated Supply Channel (please note this email address does not accept incoming emails): ppe.dedicated.supply.channel@notifications.service.gov.uk. Please ensure that you are regularly checking your NHS email accounts in order to ensure that the invitation is received and actioned.
Pharmacies are encouraged to register promptly, to ensure they can order emergency personal protective equipment (PPE) from a central inventory. This is to supplement (not replace) the wholesale supply route that already operates. New users will initially have small order limits, but these are under review.
Orders through the portal should arrive within 48 hours if placed before 1pm. Orders placed after 1pm will be subject to an additional 24-hours. Information on what items are available for your sector and size will be made available from Monday 3 August on the DHSC Guidance webpage.
If providers have any queries or have not received an email invite by close of play Monday 10 August, please contact the PPE portal customer services at: 0800 876 6802.
Further detailed information is also available on the NHS Business Services Authority website.
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EPS (GP section)
All GP practices using EPS with TPP SystmOne and EMIS Web will be live with Phase 4 by mid-September.
Phase 4 significantly reduces the need to hand sign prescriptions and deal with lost prescriptions. GP practices and pharmacies will also be able to track the status of more prescriptions using the EPS Prescription Tracker.
Using EPS with a nomination is still the preferred and most efficient option, especially during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, so please continue to encourage your patients to nominate.
- GP practices: Phase 4 functionality will be enabled automatically for all TPP SystmOne and EMIS Web practices that use EPS (including dispensing practices) from 7 September 2020. EPS Phase 4 is not currently available in the Vision or Microtest systems. To ensure a smooth transition, it is recommended that practices enable Phase 4 before this date. This will give teams more time to access support from their clinical commissioning group (CCG) EPS lead if necessary. Practices can contact their CCG to arrange a go-live date. For most practices the move requires minimal action, but teams should consult the support materials and readiness checklist.
- Pharmacies: As more practices go live with Phase 4 over the coming weeks, pharmacies and other dispensers will see the majority of hand-signed FP10s replaced by Phase 4 tokens.
