COVID-19: 12th December round-up for primary care
We are incredibly grateful to everyone working so hard to get vaccination sites up and running next week.
The Patient Group Direction for the vaccine have now been published.
In response to feedback from the BMA, the COVID-19 ES Vaccination Collaboration Agreement to support the delivery of the individual and collective responsibilities of the collaborating practices has been updated.
COVID-19: 15th December round-up for primary care
Lateral flow antigen testing in primary care
Lateral flow antigen testing will now be rolled out to asymptomatic patient-facing staff delivering NHS services across all four primary care contractor groups (Medical, Dental, Optometry, and Community Pharmacy) in England.
Lateral flow antigen testing, in conjunction with PCR testing, aims to reduce further transmission and enhance the resilience of NHS services, by improving virus detection.
Patient-facing staff will be asked to test twice-weekly using self-administered nasal swabbing and report their results through an online platform. Any positive lateral flow antigen tests will need to be followed up by a confirmatory PCR test.
A letter will be sent to all primary care contractors later this week with further information on how to order and receive deliveries of lateral flow antigen testing kits for staff. Dedicated SOPs and FAQs for primary care will also be published this week.
Primary care contractors will, during a window beginning from w/c 14 December, receive an invitation to order lateral flow testing devices directly from Primary Care Services England (PCSE), who will be managing the ordering and delivery process
Following receipt of an invitation, organisations should log on and complete their order as quickly as possible. The final closing date for orders across all contractors will be Wednesday 30 December.
Vaccination sites will be provided with separate deliveries of lateral flow testing devices for vaccinator staff. No separate ordering is necessary for those staff, although the vaccination site should order for other patient-facing staff if required.
COVID-19 vaccine programme in primary care
Hundreds of primary care networks across the country have now started to receive their COVID-19 vaccines and have begun the monumental task of vaccinating priority groups.
We want to say a massive thank you to all our colleagues across primary care who have made this happen and played their part. We know it hasn’t been easy and that you have given up so much time to ensure we are ready to roll-out the vaccination programme as quickly as possible. You have all gone above and beyond to make this happen and even though there is still some way to go we know we can do this, together.
COVID-19 local vaccination services deployment in community settings
This guidance applies to all providers who have been contracted to provide local vaccination services in community settings including at NHS sites (GP Practices, Community Pharmacies), non-NHS sites, care homes, and patients’ own homes. All NHS and non-NHS sites providing vaccination will have been ‘designated’ via a Commissioner-led site assessment process.
Some aspects of this document may only be appropriate to certain types of site and where clear that is indicated. However, we trust healthcare professionals to use their clinical judgement when applying this guidance in what we appreciate is a highly challenging, rapidly changing environment.
Flu vaccination for those in at-risk groups
We wrote at the end of November to those whose health records indicate they are eligible for vaccination due to a clinical condition to remind them to book an appointment.
While the influenza uptake for those in at-risk groups is higher than the last two seasons and comparable to the season before that (2017/18), we are now contacting those individuals that have not yet taken the opportunity to have their vaccination so that we can increase understanding of the reasons why and to encourage uptake. As a result, some individuals may receive a call from the number 0300 561 0230 and will be announced as the NHS Immunisation Management Service.
New initial education and training standards for pharmacists announced
The standards set out the knowledge, skills, understanding and professional behaviours a student/trainee pharmacist must demonstrate to pass their initial education and training and to join the professional register, as well as the requirements for organisations providing initial education and training.
Key changes include enabling pharmacists to independently prescribe from the point of registration, new learning outcomes used to assess the full five years of education and training and the application of science in clinical practice.
Quickly signpost patients with NHS Service Finder
Health and social care teams can now use NHS Service Finder to access accurate information about local services when signposting patients or identifying how to make referrals. You can search by keyword and location, helping you to direct patients to a service that best meets their needs. Services listed include community pharmacies, mental health services and urgent treatment centres.
Registration is quick and easy, and open to anyone working in health or social care. Register with your NHSmail email address for immediate access from your computer, smartphone or tablet. For more information, visit the NHS Digital website or email service.finder@nhs.net.
COVID-19: 17th December round-up for primary care
Lateral flow antigen testing in primary care
Further to our update in the last issue of the bulletin, we have now sent a letter to all primary care contractors with information on how to order and receive deliveries of lateral flow antigen testing kits for staff. The letter is accompanied by the Standard Operating Procedure for primary care and a leaflet explaining how to take the test.
A reminder that you will receive an invitation to order lateral flow testing devices directly from Primary Care Services England (PCSE), who will be managing the ordering and delivery process, and once received, organisations should log on and complete their order as quickly as possible. The final closing date for orders across all contractors will be Wednesday 30 December.
News
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published guidance on reimbursing primary care providers for the additional costs incurred in purchasing COVID-19 PPE. COVID-19 PPE is classed as the PPE that providers are required to use over and above business-as-usual (BAU) use, due to COVID-19 infection control guidance, rather than what would have been used pre-pandemic. Eligible primary care providers include General Practice, Dentistry and Community Pharmacy. Optometry costs have been covered through contracting arrangements.
Claims may be made for COVID-19 PPE purchased from 27 February to 31 December 2020 for use in delivery of NHS clinical services by 31 March 2021. There will be no further entitlement to reimbursement for PPE purchased after 31 December 2020 as this can be obtained free of charge from the DHSC portal.
News
The message for patients is that you still need to get the flu jab if you’re getting the COVID-19 vaccine, as the COVID vaccine will not protect you against the flu or stop you spreading the flu virus. You should still get your flu jab at the earliest opportunity to protect yourself and those around you.
You should get the flu jab as soon as you can from either your GP or local pharmacy. Do not delay getting a flu jab in anticipation of being offered the COVID-19 vaccine. To check whether you are eligible, visit www.nhs.uk/flujab. Guidance for social care workers on how to get the flu vaccine is available.
Ideally there should be a gap of at least seven days between the flu jab and either dose of the COVID-19 vaccination (which is given in two doses 21 days apart). If you are called to get a COVID-19 vaccination within seven days of receiving your flu jab, in the majority of cases, vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine will proceed to avoid any further delay in protection. The suggested seven-day gap between the flu jab and COVID-19 vaccine is recommended so that if you experience any side-effects it will be easier to identify which vaccine caused them.
Pharmacy Flu update
Following feedback from frontline health and social care staff that they have been struggling to access a flu vaccination because they are not covered by an Occupational Health Scheme, we have agreed with DHSC that they will update their guidance to allow community pharmacies to use vaccines from the centrally procured flu stocks to offer these workers a flu vaccination privately. This updated wording is now included on the website information relating to accessing central flu stocks and comes in to effect immediately.
