Reporting IT issues

See our Reporting NHS IT/CPCF IT/EPS one-page factsheet for full details. Here are the key points:

• Report issues to your IT supplier
  Always contact your IT supplier first by email or phone. Use email wherever possible to create an audit trail. Ask for a helpdesk reference number for every issue so you can track progress and escalate if needed.
• Escalation routes
  If the problem is outside your supplier’s control (for example, a GP system or national NHS infrastructure issue), they should escalate it to the NHS National Service Desk (NSD) for resolution.
• Follow-up
  Your supplier should keep you updated and provide the NSD national incident number (NIN).
• Use email for audit trail
  Email is recommended for raising issues and following up, as it provides a clear record if escalation is required.
• Escalating severe issues
  For serious clinical, information governance or security problems affecting multiple pharmacies, ask your IT supplier to escalate to the NHS Service Bridge. Pharmacy team members with NHS.net Connect can also register for the NSD Customer Portal, which includes an NHS IT service status checker (accessible without a Smartcard).

Top tip: Subscribe to NSD email alerts and set them to move into a sub-folder in your inbox. This keeps your main inbox clear while ensuring you can check alerts when needed.

See the ‘Feeding back or reporting about apps’ section on our apps webpage or the Reporting IT sub-page under Patient choice and IT.

Refer to the Emergency closure checklist for community pharmacy (includes contractual, IT and other actions) on our IT contingencies webpage.

If you have an EPS or IT query during a temporary closure, email it@cpe.org.uk. We are working with NHS England and other organisations on arrangements for temporary closures.

Medicinal items must be mapped against the NHS medicine database. See the reporting process on this page or email it@cpe.org.uk.

For EPS or IT issues during temporary closure, email it@cpe.org.uk.

If a patient’s electronic prescription is missing, use the EPS Tracker to help locate it.
For EPS nomination complaints, patients can email their ICB with ‘your prescription: your choice’ in the subject line, as per the NHS nomination poster. They may also copy their chosen pharmacy. See more at Nomination and patient choice or email it@cpe.org.uk.

Patients who wish to make a complaint about their choice being restricted can contact the appropriate local NHS team if someone is trying to influence your decision on which pharmacy you would like to use. Local NHS webpages can be found here.

Pharmacy teams or LPCs can also raise concerns with their ICB and must ensure they send in writing a clear case of:

• Which organisation(s) impacted patient choice
• What the impacts were – impacts for your pharmacy, patients or locality
• Evidenced as far as possible (e.g. statistics, patient feedback).

LPCs can share email chains what follow this process to Community Pharmacy England, where relevant, to help Community Pharmacy England’s feedback to NHS England.

Identifying EPS issues
Pharmacy teams should:

1. Register for Spine alerts (text or email) for national EPS system issues.
2. Bookmark the NHS service status checker (Smartcard required) for real-time updates.

EPS service review findings
NHS England reviewed the EPS service model and made key recommendations:

• Real-time monitoring of local system performance.
• A clear dashboard showing EPS system status for all users.
• Reviews of supplier platforms and processes to improve resilience.
• Updates to system functionality based on agreed priorities.
• New Service Level Agreements with suppliers covering response times, availability targets and quality standards.

NHS Service Bridge to coordinate resolution of high-severity incidents, with clear communication and escalation paths.

Local Pharmaceutical Committees (LPCs) that are helping pharmacy owners with IT issues and need extra support can contact Community Pharmacy England’s IT Lead at it@cpe.org.uk if the escalation route is not clear elsewhere on this page.

If you have problems with the Manage Your Service (MYS) application, report them to nhsbsa.mys@nhs.net.

If the NHS App is linked to a clinical incident, NHS England has a reporting process. You can find details on their NHS App reporting webpage.

For technical queries about NHS.net Connect, see the main NHS.net Connect webpage. Community Pharmacy England can help with escalation if needed. Contact us at it@cpe.org.uk.

If your pharmacy’s ODS details change (for example, location), use the ODS change checklist for guidance. If that doesn’t resolve your query, email it@cpe.org.uk.

For information on patient choice and IT, visit the Reporting IT sub-page.

If you identify a patient safety incident linked to digital systems (or any other area), follow the usual patient safety incident reporting process.

Since 2005, pharmacy owners have been required to record these incidents in a log and report them.

Choosing, changing, or giving feedback about your pharmacy IT system:

• See Choosing or changing an IT supplier
• See Making your pharmacy system work for you

If you need help, email it@cpe.org.uk.

Also check the IT suppliers list. Some suppliers share service updates on their websites, social media, or relevant NHS England webpages.

See also the EPS escalation route outlined in the ‘EPS issues’ section.

Share your digital feedback with us using the IT feedback form.
You can also contact our IT team at it@cpe.org.uk.

For NHS IT issues with Summary Care Record (SCR) or SCR business continuity, see the “Escalation & NHS-management” section of the Summary Care Record (SCR) webpage

Your local Registration Authority (RA) manages Smartcards, including issuing new cards and updating roles. See RA contact details.
If you need escalation support, see the Smartcard escalation route or email it@cpe.org.uk.

For problems with EPS tokens, follow the token escalation process or email it@cpe.org.uk.