UPDATES on services for Portsmouth pharmacies

Pharmacy First

The Pharmacy First service commissioned by NHS Portsmouth CCG, which provides free medication for a selection of minor ailments direct from the pharmacy without the patient needing to go to their GP for a prescription first, has had some small changes, which came into effect on 1 October 2020.

• Pharmacy First was previously open to more residents, but now only Portsmouth residents who are on certain benefits, and their dependent children, can access the service.
• There is also a revised list of minor ailments and associated treatments available under the scheme.

Please see the following Portsmouth CCG website page for more details: 

• https://www.portsmouthccg.nhs.uk/pharmacyfirst.htm

HIVE Portsmouth Delivery Support

HIVE Portsmouth has reported that they are still receiving a fair number of requests from the public for help with prescription collection, some of whom have been signposted by their pharmacy.

The national delivery service (including the support HIVE Portsmouth provided locally,) stopped with the end of the ‘shielding’ programme. Nationally it is only still taking place in areas with local lockdown measures in place.

Patient-facing staff should be briefed to remind them that volunteer support has been wound down. Patient recommendations might consist asking if a friend, neighbour or relative could collect, or the pharmacy’s own delivery process.

Additionally, please continue to signpost suitable patients to electronic methods of ordering and receiving their repeat prescriptions e.g. the NHS app. Please also continue to flag suitable patients to their GP for eRD.