COVID Vaccination Site Information
The following information has been complied by Sami Hanna contractor and CPE representative.
It has some useful information for new and existing Covid vaccination sites.
12th Sept 2023
The LPCs across have been informed a large proportion of the North East and North Cumbria network that will be offering Covid vaccinations this Autumn has come from Community Pharmacy. This is great news.
If you have filled in the expression of interest to provide the service we would advise you to keep a close eye on your email. Taking part in the Vaccination program is somewhat different to other enhanced services where you work on your own to provide the service. By taking part you are part of the NHS team working to get the best coverage possible. Communications will start to flow from various stakeholders (ICB, NHS England, SVOC, based leads etc on a regular basis).
It is important you keep on top of the communications you will receive as they often contain important updates for the program as well as needing you to action things often at short notice.
Colleagues within the NHS are often working under intense pressure with short deadline turnarounds. By adopting a flexible approach you will be able to work collaboratively to make the program a success.
To help community pharmacy sites please find some information below.
NHS FUTURES
NHS Futures is a resources repository. You will find various items in there that will help you to run your
service. You can register at
https://future.nhs.uk/CovidVaccinations/view?objectID=45198512
MOBILISATION GUIDE & FAQ.
Recently the following two useful guides were published on futures website which help to cover all the aspects of running a covid services. For your convenience you can download them by clicking the links however as these get update the latest version will be on NHS Futures website so keep checking for the latest version
- Mobilisation Guide (Click to download)
- FAQ – Autumn / Winter 23-24 COVID-19 and Flu Vaccination Campaign (Click to Download)
SPS – Specialist Pharmacy Services
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/
SPS have developed Guides, SOPS and various resources which will be helpful in your service. Its a good reference source if you are unsure on a particular element
Training
Training can be found at https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/
There is a general Covid Vaccination Package as well as packages for each individual vaccines.
Also many any of the Flu vaccine training providers now cover covid within their face 2 face training. E.g. NPA, ECG, Pharmdoctor. Check with individual providers to see what they offer.
IT Platforms –
Webinars are often put on to explain how the IT systems work. These will come through in the daily communications hence the need to keep an eye on the email. The main systems used are as follows.
- NBS (Q-flow) – National Booking System
- Outcomes 4 Health / Pharmoutcomes / Pinnacle – Refer to the system for recording vaccines.
Outcomes 4Health is a version of Pharmoutcomes which was used for covid vaccines. (Please note Outcomes4Health is a version of Pharmoutcomes that was used to enter covid vaccinations) - Foundry – Used for stock – Stocking taking and Stock Orders
LEGAL MECHANISMS
Normally in a Pharmacy, Covid Vaccines and Flu Vaccines are administered using one of 2 legal methods, PGD or National Protocol. Please familiarise yourself with both documents and ensure you use the most appropriate document for you service. The latest versions of these can be found on the NHS England Website. For your convenience the links below take you to the various documents.
** INSURANCE ** IMPORTANT
Make sure your pharmacy insurance covers you for Covid vaccines. Each Insurance company will have different requirements so you will need to check with them.
We are aware that the NPA ,for example, will require you to take out 2 different amendments to your main policy to cover the Covid Service.
Please Note – Since co-administration of flu and covid is advisable on this campaign it may be prudent to also check that your insurance covers the flu vaccinators also. Again every insurance provider is different however we are aware that the NPA, for example, does not cover staff Non-Pharmacists without additional supplement.
CONTRACT
Although you may have signed the NHS contract this is not valid until it is returned to you with the commissioners signature on it. You must not vaccinate against this contract until you have received your SIGNED contract. This is important to ensure that you are paid for the vaccines you administer.
Further Enquires
Most of the information you need is available in the documents and resources mentioned above however if you have any queries or are unsure about something you should contact SVOC.
SVOC – necsu.svoc@nhs.net
We hope this information is useful and wish you all the best with the vaccination program.