COVID-19: 9th February round-up for primary care
Protecting frontline health and care workers from COVID-19 is a top priority, and it is crucial that all eligible staff are offered vaccines and supported to accept them. We ask that you work with your local system partners to ensure that any staff who have not yet been offered a vaccine are offered one as soon as is practically possible.
We are asking all providers to ensure that they continue to focus effort to address vaccine inequality and ensure that no one gets left behind. We ask that you support locum staff who you work with to access vaccination. A full list of those frontline health and social care workers who are eligible can be found here.
To make sure all frontline health workers have been offered vaccination, your local CCG will be in touch this week to gather information on the proportion of your staff that have been vaccinated. CCGs will aim to confirm that all eligible staff have been vaccinated by 15 February and will be grateful for your support in achieving this.
It is critical to ensure we protect health and care workers, patients and the public at a time when COVID-19 pressures across health and care continue. Thank you for your continued efforts.
Your top tips for vaccination services
Local vaccination services were asked for their top tips on setting up and running vaccination services to help new sites as they have come on board. This poster highlights your top tips on vaccinating.
Vaccination record query helpdesk
A new COVID-19 vaccination information web resource and helpdesk is being set up for practice managers to help find out answers to questions about records of vaccinations. Find out how COVID-19 vaccinations are recorded, how long it takes, common errors or difficulties and how to get help.
The National COVID-19 Vaccination procurement channel
Please be reminded that all new vaccination sites must be setup using the National COVID-19 Vaccination procurement channel. This applies to all vaccination sites: Hospital Hubs, Vaccination Centres and Local Vaccination Services sites. There are no exceptions to this rule and no sites should be attempting to procure items through alternative channels, such as NHS Supply Chain or Primary Care Support England (PCSE).
Surplus DHSC centrally supplied flu vaccines 2020/21
Thank you for all you have done, and continue to do, on this season’s flu vaccination programme. As we come to the end of this season’s programme, you may find you have surplus stock available. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) guidance for accessing centrally supplied flu vaccines is clear that providers are unable to return unused centrally supplied stock. This is the case for all providers who have accessed centrally supplied stock, whether you are a GP practice, pharmacy or trust.
Flu vaccine reimbursement letter 2021/22
Professor Stephen Powis, National Medical Director, has written to flu vaccination providers providing guidance on reimbursement and ordering of flu vaccines for the 2021/22 season. The letter also provides an overview of uptake from the 2020/21 season.
Flu immunisation guidance for 2021/22 season published – community pharmacy
New guidance has been published providing information on the flu vaccines reimbursable under the 2021/22 Community Pharmacy Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Advanced Service (Flu Vaccination Service). Contractors are encouraged to review the JCVI advice for the 2021/22 season, published in November 2020 and order vaccines in line with reimbursement guidance.
Community pharmacies should plan their ordering for 2021/22 season on the basis of meeting at least the numbers of vaccinations they achieved during the 2020/21 season.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society launches health and wellbeing campaign
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) is asking pharmacists to sign up to its campaign to help improve health and wellbeing in the workplace. RPS has built on the results of its latest annual survey on mental health and wellbeing to create three key campaign asks to advance its Workforce Wellbeing work focusing on:
- preventing the cause of wellbeing problems in the workplace;
- improving the workplace culture to support wellbeing; and
- accessing wellbeing support easily when needed.
RPS is asking pharmacists to back the campaign by:
- showing their support for the actions through a simple website click;
- joining a members’ Workforce Wellbeing action group to help shape future activity; and
- sharing examples of good practice in the workplace so others can learn from them.
COVID-19: 11th February round-up for primary care
Thank you for your ongoing efforts to ensure that everyone in JCVI cohorts 1-4 is offered a vaccination by 15 February. Please continue to do everything possible to minimise any inequalities in vaccine uptake working with CCG, local authority and community partners.
Self-referral for social care worker vaccination
To support healthcare workers and community based social care workers in priority group 2 to receive their Covid-19 vaccination, they have the option to book their vaccination appointments in a vaccination centre or community pharmacy through the NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service. Staff can book online at www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination. Staff should try online booking first but if this is not possible, they can phone 119 free of charge, 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week. As part of the booking process, eligible staff need to self-declare they are a health or social care worker. Staff will be able to book this way for a limited period, until 28 February. Further information is available in the letter published today.
Increasing uptake of vaccinations for vulnerable groups of people
The Health Inequalities standing group of the Royal College of General Practitioners is undertaking a project on increasing the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine amongst vulnerable groups of patients affected by health inequalities, due to socioeconomic reasons. They are looking for examples of interventions by GPs/PCNs, health and social care teams, as well as by the voluntary sector and local communities, aiming to increase such vaccination uptake. If you would like to provide local examples so that they can be included in their report, please complete this form.
DHSC survey on PPE supplies
DHSC is seeking views from those who purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) which is in addition to the PPE which they are obtaining free of charge from the DHSC PPE portal. This will help the portal team to understand what PPE needs are not being met through the current PPE delivery arrangements. The short survey is open until Sunday 14 February and takes just a couple of minutes to complete.
