Locally commissioned services
Published on: 10th July 2013 | Updated on: 4th November 2025
Locally commissioned community pharmacy services can be contracted via a number of different routes and by different commissioners, including local authorities, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and local NHS England teams.
The following page and resources provide information on locally commissioned services.
Guidance on the development of local services and resources
Below is a list of guidance and resources on the development of local services.
Guidance on developing a service proposal
Community Pharmacy England Locally Commissioned Services database
Guidance on decommissioning of services
Template service specifications and resources for locally commissioned services
The following are links to pages containing template service specifications. Some of these are nationally agreed templates, others have not been nationally agreed and are drafts. These template service specifications and associated resources should be used to inform an LPC’s local discussions on service development.
Examples of services that have been commissioned locally are available on the Community Pharmacy England local services database.
Tools and publications which may be useful to support the commissioning of local services can be found on the Service development tools and publications hub and in the Community Pharmacy England Services Case Studies Hub.
Other resources including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – Community Pharmacies: promoting health and wellbeing (August 2018) and Public Health England and Royal Society for Public Health – Everyday interactions (June 2017) may also be useful.
Click on a heading below for more information
Template service specification
Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention template service specification
This is a draft template service specification that has not been nationally agreed and is not the final version; it may be used to inform local discussions on service development.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Other resources
Health matters: harmful drinking and alcohol dependence (2016)
Case Study: Pharmacy London’s Alcohol Awareness Service (2013)
Support for community pharmacy-based alcohol interventions: a Scottish general public survey (2015)
Template service specification
Anticoagulant monitoring service specification
This is a draft template service specification that has not been nationally agreed and is not the final version; it may be used to inform local discussions on service development.
Other resources
Pharmacies may supply antivirals for the treatment of flu on NHS prescriptions, during the times when the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Pharmaceutical Officer have advised that seasonal influenza is circulating. Outside of that period, general practitioners are unable to prescribe antivirals under the General Medical Services regulations and alternative local commissioning arrangements need to be made.
Localised community outbreaks of influenza in the out of season period
To fulfil the need to respond to localised outbreaks in the out-of-season period, NHS Clinical Commissioners and its members worked with NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) to develop an approach whereby Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will commission appropriate primary care clinicians to respond to these outbreaks, by assessing exposed persons for the antiviral treatment or prophylaxis and completing a patient specific direction or issuing a private prescription for this purpose.
Localised community outbreaks of influenza in the out of season period – template procedure (NHSE&I)
In some cases, supplies of the antiviral may be made from local PHE antiviral stocks (with the CCG funding replacement stock) or from hospital pharmacies. An alternative approach adopted by some CCGs, is to commission several community pharmacies to hold stock of the antivirals and to issue them against private prescriptions (pharmacies can’t make a supply against a patient specific direction) written by the primary care clinicians commissioned to respond to the local outbreaks.
Community Pharmacy England holds details of some of these services on its services database.
Supply of antivirals during a flu pandemic
During the 2009 flu pandemic, some community pharmacies supplied antivirals as part of locally commissioned arrangements and as part of the system that supports the National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS).
The NPFS is designed to supplement the response provided by primary care if the pressures during a flu pandemic mean that it is no longer practical for all those with symptoms to be individually assessed by a doctor or other health care professionals in order to access antiviral medicines.
The NPFS comprises an online and telephony self-assessment service where individuals are not assessed by a clinician but follow a process of answering questions which have been developed with extensive advice from clinicians, which determine whether the person who is ill is eligible for an antiviral medicine or not. Individuals may also be directed to other health interventions such as self-care advice at home or referral to the emergency services for an ambulance response.
Community Pharmacy England and NHSE&I have agreed an Enhanced service specification for pharmacies acting as antiviral collection points (ACP), which will be used to commission community pharmacies to supply antivirals, from the national Public Health England stockpile, to patients that have had a supply authorised by the NPFS. At the point that a flu pandemic is likely, Community Pharmacy England and NHSE&I will agree funding for provision of the service and the service specification will be released for use by regional NHSE&I teams.
Community Pharmacy England highlights potential for pharmacy to improve asthma care
Community Pharmacy England has published a report outlining the significant contribution that community pharmacies could make to the care of people with asthma to help improve their care and manage their condition and to reduce avoidable complications.
The report pulls together evidence from a number of local pilots and services to show the impact that community pharmacies can make in this area. For example, by helping people to understand and use their inhalers correctly, we know that pharmacies can help people to better manage their conditions, reducing hospital admissions and even deaths caused by asthma.
Building on Community Pharmacy England’s vision published last year, it also outlines how the gradual development of asthma services, building on MURs and the NMS, could enable pharmacies to provide longitudinal care for people with asthma, taking over the key role in leading their management to free up capacity in general practice.
The report is focused in particular on the recently published National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) which highlighted the need for improvements in care to help avoid unnecessary complications and deaths due to asthma. Key findings from the report included that:
- nearly half of those included in the study had not received any medical help during their last attack;
- the standard of care received was less than satisfactory in a quarter of those who died; and
- there was widespread under-use of preventer inhalers and excessive over-reliance on reliever inhalers.
Community Pharmacy England’s report outlines exactly how community pharmacy could help with many of the NRAD’s recommendations for care, and it forms part of our ongoing work to develop community pharmacy services and the sector’s role in the NHS. As part of this we will be hosting a working seminar in the autumn and we have written to the NRAD authors and hope to work collaboratively with them and others to further promote pharmacy’s role in this area.
We hope the report will also be of use to LPCs and others discussing community pharmacy services with commissioners at a local level, providing evidence and ideas for how community pharmacy could help CCGs to better care for people with asthma.
Alastair Buxton, Community Pharmacy England Head of NHS Services, said:
“The NRAD showed once again the need to develop services to better support people with asthma to manage their medicines and conditions. We already have evidence to show that community pharmacy can do exactly that in a way that is convenient for patients and affordable for the NHS and we hope that our report on this topic will help to convince policy-makers and commissioners of that.
Of course what we would like to see is national action to enable community pharmacies across the country to provide the care we describe to asthma patients, and we will continue to make the value of that clear in our ongoing discussions with the NHS and others. However, we recognise the current direction of travel towards local commissioning within the NHS and so we are also looking to work with stakeholders to develop a commissioning framework that could be adopted by CCGs to initiate these sorts of services at a local level. In the meantime, we hope the report may be of use in helping LPCs with any local discussions on community pharmacy asthma care that they have already begun.”
You can read Community Pharmacy England’s report, download a printable pdf, or read more about the NRAD below.
National Review of Asthma Deaths
Have you joined the Asthma + Lung UK healthcare professionals’ hub?
Most community pharmacists will provide NMS services to people with asthma on a regular basis, but are you keeping up to date with the resources and support that Asthma + Lung UK can provide to you and your patients?
Asthma + Lung UK offers a range of materials to support healthcare professionals working with people with asthma, including ‘‘Your asthma healthcare team’. You can sign up to the Asthma + Lung UK healthcare professionals’ hub to explore the latest patient information, access professional resources, and subscribe to their newsletter for updates.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Inhaler technique service (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Asthma management service (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 064/16: Inhaler technique services (November 2016)
Other resources
Asthma UK – Patient safety failures in asthma care: the scale of unsafe prescribing in the UK (2014)
Case Study: South Yorkshire LPC’s Joint Respiratory Service (Jun 2012)
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: AF case finding service (June 2019)
Services case study: Community pharmacists and hospital teams working together to find and treat AF and prevent stroke (September 2017)
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Blood-borne virus screening (June 2019)
Public Health England – Pharmacy offer for sexual health, reproductive health and HIV (March 2019)
Public Health England & Royal Society for Public Health – Everyday interactions (June 2017)
This resource aims to support healthcare professionals to record what they ‘do’ in their interactions with individuals to demonstrate impact on public health priorities.
Service case study: HIV testing being offered in Cumbrian pharmacies (December 2016)
Pinnacle Health/PharmOutcomes Flash Card on Dry Blood Spot Testing (Jan 2014) (for LPC use in discussions with commissioners).
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Cancer detection (June 2019)
Cancer Research UK – Sign up to receive newsletters to support healthcare professionals.
Cancer Research UK provide a range of newsletters to support healthcare professionals covering topics such as early diagnosis and early detection.
Royal College of General Practitioners & Cancer Research UK – Primary Care Cancer Toolkit (Aug 2016)
Template service specification
Care Home template service specification (Microsoft Word)
This page contains a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Employers). LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Other resources
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society – Working in care homes hub (July 2016)
Community Pharmacy England has produced Briefing 001/15: Support for carers – how community pharmacy teams can help, which complements this webpage by providing more detailed information on the important role that carers play in supporting patients and the NHS and explains how community pharmacy teams can help carers in their work.
Research published on the Carers Week website in June 2015 showed that carers rate pharmacy as the most carer-friendly service they receive out of all community services across health, social care, work, transport and education.
Carers were asked which health and social care services in their local communities were the best at meeting their needs and which services failed to include them; pharmacies came out on top as the most carer-friendly services overall:
- 67% of carers rated the pharmacy as carer–friendly; and
- Only 8% of carers rated the pharmacy as not carer-friendly at all.
Who is a carer?
A carer is a person who provides unpaid care for a family member, partner or friend who cannot cope without their support due to an illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction.
The term ‘carer’ is sometimes confused with a care worker or care assistant; however, the difference is that a carer is unpaid whereas a care worker or care assistant is paid for looking after someone.
The sort of roles and responsibilities that carers provide can vary greatly. It can range from help with everyday tasks such as helping someone get dressed and personal care such as bathing, to emotional support such as helping someone cope with the symptoms of a mental illness or an addiction.
Sometimes people refer to carers as full-time carers or part-time carers; however, there is not a minimum time requirement that means they are more or less of a carer. There is also no minimum age restriction on what “qualifies” someone as a carer.
There are nearly 7 million carers in the UK; almost 5 million of these people are carers in England.
NHS England & Department of Health and Social Care publications
NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have published a number of documents, which acknowledge the great job that carers do and recognise how important they are to the NHS. The key documents that have been published since 2014 are:
- NHS England – Social care and support guide – This website explains the options and support available for a person needing help with day-to-day living because of illness or disability.
- Carers action plan 2018 to 2020 – The plan sets out how the government will improve support for carers in England between 2018 and 2020.
- NHS England’s commitment to carers – NHS England has developed a list of 37 commitments of action to take forward to support carers and the people they care for.
- Department of Health and Social Care Carers Strategy: Second national action plan 2014-16 – Provides an overview of the evidence and main achievements in recognising and supporting carers during the last few years as well as the four priority areas for DHSC to focus on between 2014 and 2016.
- The Commissioning for Carers: Principles and resources to support effective commissioning for adult and young carers – A practical tool which forms part of a suite of products that will help commissioners to deliver what carers say is important to them in ways that have been shown to work effectively and efficiently in practice. It is based on ten principles to deliver better outcomes for carers, patients, commissioners, practitioners and local communities.
- An integrated approach to identifying and assessing Carer health and wellbeing – The toolkit covers new duties on NHS organisations brought about by the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014, and includes numerous examples of positive practice that are already making a difference to Carers and their families. NHS England has also produced an animation, which provides an overview of how NHS England hope the integrated approach will make a difference to carers and their families.
Carer support organisations
There are two main charities that support carers, Carers Trust and Carers UK. Both organisations provide expert advice, information and support; connect carers with groups and volunteers; campaign on behalf of carers and work with local authorities and organisations to improve services throughout the UK.
Both organisations are also very active on social media and can be followed on X @CarersTrust @CarersUK and both have Facebook pages.
How can pharmacy get involved?
Community pharmacy teams have always provided support for carers via the wide range of services they provide. This support, such as practical assistance to order and collect prescriptions from GP practices, delivery of medicines to people’s homes and helping people to manage their medicines use, via multi-compartment compliance aids, as well as signposting to support organisations, has often been provided, without consideration of whether a person is a carer; these are simply services that are offered to those with a need for support. However, these are services that can have a massive impact in assisting carers, therefore, the need to identify carers and tell them about the services available in the pharmacy and signpost them to support organisations is extremely important.
Community Pharmacy England has produced two template leaflets for pharmacy owners to use to assist them in advising carers on the services they offer and to provide information to carers on managing medicines.
Carers Leaflet – Pharmacy Services (Microsoft Word)
Carers Leaflet – Managing Medicines (Microsoft Word)
Cares Trust has produced a flyer (Microsoft Word) detailing the help available for carers from their organisation. Pharmacy owners can insert their pharmacy logo or contact details on the second page of the flyer to distribute to carers.
NHS England’s Commitment to Carers stated that 70% of carers come into contact with health professionals yet health professionals only identify one in ten carers and that 66% of carers feel that healthcare staff do not help to signpost them to relevant information or support. When information is given, it comes from charities and support groups. This shows there is a big opportunity for pharmacy teams to contribute to identifying carers and signposting them to the information and support they need.
Recent examples of how community pharmacy teams are getting involved are listed below.
Flu vaccination service
Carers are included in the group of patients eligible for an NHS flu vaccination under the national flu service but it can be difficult to identify who is a carer. Resources to assist pharmacy teams in identifying carers can be found on the Identifying carers eligible for a flu vaccination page.
The Carer-Friendly pharmacy pilot – 3rd November 2014 to 28th February 2015
The Carer-Friendly pharmacy pilot, led by Carers Trust and Community Pharmacy England, is part of a programme of work funded by the DHSC and forms part of the ‘Supporting Carers in General Practice Programme’ involving Carers Trust, the RCGP and Carers UK.
A total of 44 pharmacies are involved across nine Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPCs) areas.
The aim of the project is to increase the identification and support of unpaid carers within primary care and community settings so that carers receive support before they reach crisis point. The project tests the concept of a ‘Carer-Friendly Pharmacy’, which pharmacies participating in the project will seek to become.
A Carer Friendly Pharmacy is one where:
- all staff are trained to be carer aware, sensitive to carers’ needs and the challenges they face and have developed enhanced communication skills to enable them to engage effectively with carers;
- all staff are pro-active in identifying, referring and supporting carers;
- the pharmacy identifies a member of the team who takes on the role of Carers Champion along with a deputy – their role is to lead and facilitate carer referrals, act as a contact point for external agencies such as the local carers centre and GP practices to support a multi-disciplinary approach and to maintain stocks of resources;
- posters and/or related materials make it clear to the customer that the pharmacy is carer-friendly and encourage them to self-identify; NB. It is acknowledged that displaying materials will be easier in larger pharmacies and Healthy Living Pharmacies where there is a dedicated notice board to display such information;
- the pharmacy offers a range of services, such as Medicines Use Reviews (MURs) and prescription collection and delivery, in a manner that is relevant to the carer; and
- with the carer’s consent, the pharmacy will refer the carer to their local carers services and/or their GP. In the pilot the PharmOutcomes system is being used to make these referrals and capture information on the referrals to allow evaluation of the service.
The core model may, in some localities, be augmented by add-ons such as pharmacy delivery driver engagement with carers, pharmacy-based carers’ health checks and free flu vaccinations for carers where the pharmacy has been commissioned to do so.
Below are resources used to support the Carers Trust/Community Pharmacy England Carer-Friendly Pharmacy pilot:
About the Carer-Friendly Pharmacy Pilot
Carer-Friendly Pharmacy Pilot – summary
PharmOutcomes module
PharmOutcomes Carer module – pharmacy guide
PharmOutcomes Carer module – carer service guide
Pilot resources
CPPE and Carers Trust training
Training presentation handouts
The project is showing promising results as reported on the Community Pharmacy England website on 27 January 2015.
An evaluation of the service has been published by the Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities (CIRCLE) at the University of Leeds.
Devon Carers – Carers Health and Wellbeing Checks
Pharmacy teams are involved in another service in Devon, the Carer Health and Wellbeing Check service. This service is offered in a number of participating pharmacies and GP surgeries and is particularly aimed at adult carers between the ages of 40-74 and carers at risk of admission to hospital (or if they are caring for someone at risk of admission to hospital).
The Carer Health and Wellbeing Check service, which offers carers an hour of protected time, provides a free and confidential check-up covering elements of the NHS Health Check, where appropriate, and a wider review of the carer’s health, wellbeing and home environment. It also offers the carer the opportunity to raise any worries or concerns they may have about their health.
If a carer is unable to visit the pharmacy or GP as they cannot leave the person they care for, it may be possible to arrange for the Health and Wellbeing Check to be carried out in the patient’s home. Alternatively, there is money available to pay for someone to look after the person being cared for while the carer has their check.
A plan is developed with the carer and this will incorporate referral to other services where required. A follow up review is then offered to the carer six months later.
The service ran as a pilot during 2010-11 before being commissioned by NHS Devon in 2011. LPC members can view the evaluation of the pilot scheme on the Community Pharmacy England services database (please note LPC members should log in to the LPC members section of the website prior to searching the database in order to access this information).
Further information on the service can be found on the Devon Carers website.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Success for pharmacy at the NHS Flu Fighter Awards (April 2017)
Service case study: Hull pharmacy wins Flu fighter carers award (May 2015)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 047/15: Supporting frail, vulnerable and older people to live independently (August 2015)
This Community Pharmacy England Briefing provides background information and statistics on the challenges people face in managing their medicines; and provides examples of locally commissioned pharmacy services which are supporting and empowering people and their carers to manage their medicines, while assisting them to live independently and prevent hospital admissions.
Other resources
The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) has carer-awareness learning resources on their Learning Pharmacy website, a free online learning environment which provides learning activities for the whole community pharmacy team. It has fun and interactive bite-sized learning challenges that can be accessed by everyone without the need to log in.
CPPE also has a number of other training programmes, on certain conditions and diseases, for example, dementia which may allow pharmacists and their teams to gain better background knowledge and give a higher level of support to carers. A list of programmes and assessments can be viewed on the CPPE Please note you will need to be registered with CPPE to access these.
The Carers UK website offers a ‘Carer Awareness: supporting frontline practice’ e-learning course, which covers topics such as how to identify carers; defining what it is to be a carer; and the impact of caring and how to identify when carers need more support.
The NHS website also has lots of information on caring for carers, which may be another useful resource to signpost carers to.
Both Carers Trust and Carers UK have a section on their website for professionals where information and resources can be viewed.
Template service specification
Chlamydia Screening & Treatment template service specification (Microsoft Word)
Above, is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers). LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Chlamydia screening and treatment (June 2019)
The Community Pharmacy England resource Community Pharmacy – at the Heart of Public Health describes the main public health services that are provided by community pharmacies and the evidence base for these services.
Other resources
Public Health England – Pharmacy offer for sexual health, reproductive health and HIV (March 2019)
Public Health England (PHE) published guidance for local authority commissioners in November 2014 – Information to support the commissioning of chlamydia screening in general practice and community pharmacies. The document explains about some of the benefits of commissioning the service from primary care providers such as community pharmacies and general practices and it suggests elements that should be included in service specifications for the service.
Public Health England – Pharmacy offer for sexual health, reproductive health and HIV (March 2019)
Public Health England – Condom distribution schemes in England (October 2017)
This paper highlights the findings of a study by Public Health England on condom distribution schemes in England.
Under the Transforming Community Equipment Services (TCES) programme it was proposed that accredited pharmacies could be reimbursed by the local service commissioner for dispensing ability aids and equipment against ‘prescriptions’. Click on the link below for more information:
Community Pharmacy England resources
COPD rescue packs toolkit
This toolkit has been developed to support the implementation of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rescue pack service within community pharmacy. Local commissioners can use this as a resource when considering commissioning such a service from community pharmacies.
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 049/17: COPD rescue packs toolkit (July 2017)
Patient information leaflet – Rescue pack information (Prednisolone and Amoxicillin)
Patient information leaflet – Rescue pack information (Prednisolone and Clarithromycin)
Patient information leaflet – Rescue pack information (Prednisolone and Co-amoxiclav)
Patient information leaflet – Rescue pack information (Prednisolone and Doxycycline)
Other Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Inhaler technique service (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 064/16: Inhaler technique services (November 2016)
Other resources
Community Pharmacy Future Project – COPD Case Finding Service
This service was aimed at identifying patients with undiagnosed COPD for earlier interventions. The full results of the service evaluation have been published in the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice (2015).
Community Pharmacy Future Project – COPD Support Service
This service was aimed at diagnosed patients with COPD. The full results of the service evaluation have been published in the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice (2015).
Service case Study: South Yorkshire LPC’s Joint Respiratory Service (2013)
Public Health England & Royal Society for Public Health – Everyday interactions (June 2017)
This resource aims to support healthcare professionals to record what they ‘do’ in their interactions with individuals to demonstrate impact on public health priorities.
Service Case Study: Avon LPC publish outcomes from dementia project
NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme
Cornwall PAM service expands to empower more patients with diabetes (July 2019)
Service case study: The community pharmacy patient activation project in Cornwall (July 2017)
Service case study: community pharmacy teams reach out to young people with diabetes (October 2016)
Service case study: Devon LPC’s Diabetes Support Service (2013)
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Domiciliary Medicines Use Reviews (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 047/15: Supporting frail, vulnerable and older people to live independently (Aug 2015)
This Community Pharmacy England Briefing provides background information and statistics on the challenges people face in managing their medicines; and provides examples of locally commissioned pharmacy services which are supporting and empowering people to manage their medicines, while assisting them to live independently and prevent hospital admissions.
Other resources
Case study: Croydon LPC’s Domiciliary Visiting Service (2013)
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Minor ailment service via PGD (June 2019)
Public Health England & Royal Society for Public Health – Everyday interactions (June 2017)
This resource aims to support healthcare professionals to record what they ‘do’ in their interactions with individuals to demonstrate impact on public health priorities.
Service case study: ENT & eye service highly valued by patients (February 2019)
Template service specification
EN11 Emergency Hormonal Contraception template service specification (Microsoft Word)
EN11 Emergency Hormonal Contraception template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers) and associated resources on the service. LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Emergency hormonal contraception (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 029/13: Sexual Health Services (March 2013)
This Community Pharmacy England Briefing summarises two documents published in early 2013: A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England; and Commissioning Sexual Health services and interventions.
The Community Pharmacy England resource Community Pharmacy – at the Heart of Public Health describes the main public health services that are provided by community pharmacies and the evidence base for these services.
Other resources
NHS support for victims and survivors of sexual assault and abuse
Should an individual need assistance, NHS sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) provide a safe space and dedicated care for anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted or abused.
SARCs are available across England, to all regardless of sex, gender identity, age, the type of incident and when it happened. Individuals can get help from a SARC without having to talk to the police or report what happened to them.
SARCs offer specialist practical, medical and emotional support 24/7, which includes crisis care, medical and forensic examinations, emergency contraception and testing for sexually transmitted infections. They can also arrange access to an independent sexual violence advisor, as well as referrals to mental health support and voluntary sector sexual violence support services.
Access to a SARC is by appointment; individuals can contact a SARC to make an appointment or ask a health care professional, family member, friend or other representative to do this for them. Individuals also have the option of accessing a SARC by police referral or escort.
Getting help from a SARC
Click here to find your nearest SARC.
Further information is available at www.nhs.uk/sarcs.
Identifying and Responding to Sexual Assault and Abuse programme
Pharmacists and pharmacy staff who want to undertake additional training to support with information giving and advice for identifying and responding to sexual assault and abuse can access a free e-learning programme available through the e-learning for Healthcare portal. The resources are aimed at health and care professionals who may be involved in the care of people who have experienced rape, sexual assault or abuse.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) – The value of community pharmacy: full report and summary report.
This report contains a chapter which provides PwC’s assessment of the value associated with community pharmacy’s current role in providing emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) services in England.
The Professional Standards for Public Health Practice for Pharmacy (2014) provide a framework to help pharmacy teams, commissioners and those contracting services to design, implement, deliver and monitor high quality public health practice through pharmacy.
‘Think Pharmacy’ Posters – EHC for up to 72 hours after (version 1)
‘Think Pharmacy’ Posters – EHC for up to 72 hours after (version 2)
‘Think Pharmacy’ Posters – EHC for up to 120 hours after (version 1)
‘Think Pharmacy’ Posters – EHC for up to 120 hours after (version 2)
Template service specification
In 2013 Community Pharmacy England worked with NHS England and other organisations to develop three service offerings to support local commissioners during the winter pressures period. Emergency supply (at NHS Expense) was one of these services and a template service specification and associated documentation to support implementation and provision of the service were developed.
A draft template service specification is also available that has not been nationally agreed and is not the final version; however, it may be used to inform local discussions on service development.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: emergency supply service (Feb 2016)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 044/15: Analysis of Emergency Supply services – commissioned during 2014/15 in England (August 2015)
Following an email survey and a review of Emergency Supply of Medicines at NHS Expense (Emergency Supply) service specifications and other associated documents, Community Pharmacy England has conducted an analysis on the different services commissioned across England during 2014/15.
This Community Pharmacy England Briefing provides a summary of this analysis which may be of particular interest to LPCs developing proposals for an emergency supply of medicines at NHS expense service in their area or those who are reviewing their existing service.
Other resources
Case Study: Devon pharmacy teams help more than 8,000 patients in Pharmacy First scheme (Sep 2015)
NHS England – Urgent repeat medication requests guide for NHS 111 services (Mar 2015)
Template service specification and commissioning toolkit
Extended Care PGD Services toolkit
The below documents constitute the Extended Care PGD Service toolkit (published October 2021):
- Building a business case for Extended Care PGD Services – a case for change (PDF);
- Community Pharmacy Extended Care PGD Service Business Case (Microsoft Word);
- Building a Business Case for Extended Care PGD Services – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Hints and Tips (PDF);
- Appendix 1&2 – Business case figures 2021 (Microsoft Excel);
- Extended Care PGD Service – Financial projections (Microsoft Excel); and
- Extended Care PGD Service – Service costing estimate (Microsoft Excel).
Further resources will be added in due course to support LPCs and their local commissioners with the implementation of Extended Care Services where these are commissioned.
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Falls prevention service (June 2019)
Public Health England & Royal Society for Public Health – Everyday interactions (June 2017)
This resource aims to support healthcare professionals to record what they ‘do’ in their interactions with individuals to demonstrate impact on public health priorities.
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 047/15: Supporting frail, vulnerable and older people to live independently (Aug 2015)
This Community Pharmacy England Briefing provides background information and statistics on the challenges people face in managing their medicines; and provides examples of locally commissioned pharmacy services which are supporting and empowering people to manage their medicines, while assisting them to live independently and prevent hospital admissions.
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Falls prevention service (Jul 2015)
Community Pharmacy Future Project: Four or More Medicines (FOMM) Support Service
This service was aimed at patients aged over 65 years taking four or more medicines with one of the aims being to reduce falls risk and fear of falls through multifactoral risk assessment and interventions or referral to another healthcare professional. The full results of the service evaluation have been published in the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice.
Community Pharmacy England worked with Coeliac UK and other partners to develop a guide for commissioners on gluten-free food supply from community pharmacies.
Community pharmacy supply of gluten-free foods – a toolkit for commissioners (Sep 2011)
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Healthy Start vitamins service (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 033/14: Increasing use of vitamin D supplements for at-risk groups (Dec 2014)
This Community Pharmacy England Briefing provides background information on vitamin D and why it is important for at-risk groups to take supplements. The Briefing summarises the recently published NICE Public Health Guidance 56 ‘Vitamin D: increasing supplement use among at-risk groups’ highlighting elements of the document that are of most relevance to community pharmacy. It also provides details on the UK-wide Healthy Start initiative and an example from an LPC where pharmacies are involved in successfully distributing Healthy Start vitamins as well as suggested actions for LPCs. In addition, the briefing touches on the limited availability of licensed vitamin D medicines and where to obtain further information on vitamin D and the Healthy Start scheme.
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Hypertension case finding service (June 2019)
Service case study: British Heart Foundation Innovation Award secures HLP pilot (January 2018)
Public Health England – Tackling high blood pressure: an update (January 2018)
Pfizer Health Partnerships – Cardiovascular disease resources (March 2017)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 028/14: Tackling high blood pressure. From evidence into action (Nov 2014)
This Briefing summarises the elements of PHE’s Tackling high blood pressure. From evidence into action that are of most relevance to community pharmacy.
Public Health England – Tackling high blood pressure. From evidence into action (Nov 2014)
British Journal of General Practice – Management of patients with hypertension: general practice and
Template service specification
Independent prescribing service specification
This is a draft template service specification that has not been nationally agreed and is not the final version; it may be used to inform local discussions on service development.
Other resources
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society – Prescribing competency framework (July 2016)
Service case study: New GP2Pharmacy service in South Tyneside (January 2019)
NHS Lewisham CCG – Walk in my shoes video
Service case study: Community pharmacists reduce workload for GPs in Sheffield LPC (June 2016)
NHS Improving Quality: Case study Lewisham CCG Walk in my shoes (March 2015)
Template service specification
Medication Review template service specification (Microsoft Word)
Medication Review template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers). LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Template service specification
Medicines assessment & compliance support template service specification (Microsoft Word)
Medicines assessment & compliance support template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers) and associated resources on the service. LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England guidance on the Equality Act
Community Pharmacy England guidance on the Equality Act & 28 Day Prescribing
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 01/16 Equality Act 2010 (Jan 2016)
This Community Pharmacy England Briefing updates “Community Pharmacy England Briefing 084/13: Equality Act 2010” on the Equality Act 2010 (incorporating its predecessor legislation the Disability Discrimination Act 1995).
Commissioning Medicines Optimisation Services From Community Pharmacy Guidance For Commissioners (October 2016)
Services case study: Utilising community pharmacists to reduce prescribing waste (March 2018)
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) – The value of community pharmacy: full report and summary report.
This report contains a chapter which provides PwC’s assessment of the value associated with community pharmacy’s current role in providing medicines support services in England.
Public Health England & Royal Society for Public Health – Everyday interactions (June 2017)
This resource aims to support healthcare professionals to record what they ‘do’ in their interactions with individuals to demonstrate impact on public health priorities.
Background
According to the Kings Fund, on an average day in the NHS there are:
- Nearly 1.3 million people would attend a GP appointment; and
- More than 44,000 people would attend a major accident and emergency (A&E) department.
Nearly one in five (18%) of GP consultations are for minor ailments alone. If these consultations could be handled by a pharmacist or the pharmacy team, at least an hour a day could be released for every GP to see patients with more complex needs and it could potentially reduce patient waiting times (PAGB and PSNC Submission to the Pharmacy White Paper).
Minor ailments are are also one of the most common issues that result in the use of urgent care services and it has been found that 8% of A&E consultations could be managed by a pharmacist if a pharmacy service was commissioned (Bednall R, et al. Identification of patients attending accident and emergency who may be suitable for treatment by a pharmacist. Fam Pract (2003); 20(1): 54–57.3).
The NHS England ‘Transforming urgent and emergency care’ report stated that community pharmacy services can play an important role in enabling self-care, particularly amongst patients with minor ailments.
Many common and minor ailments can be treated in community pharmacies by providing brief advice and/or medicines classified as general sales list (GSL) or pharmacy-only (P). Occasionally a patient may require a specific prescription only medicine (POM). Where appropriate, this can be offered by the pharmacist working under a patient group direction (PGD). Some patients may also benefit from a referral to another healthcare provider or a source of information to support self-care of their condition.
A locally commissioned Minor Ailment Service (MAS) would compliment the existing Pharmacy First Advanced Service and allow patients with a defined, non-serious condition or injury to be additionally supported by the community pharmacy of their choice for advice and/or over-the-counter treatment. Patients could access the service directly at the pharmacy or be referred or directed by NHS 111, general practice staff or another healthcare professional as part of the Pharmacy First Service. In some circumstances, someone may present at the pharmacy on behalf of the patient, e.g. a parent for their child or a carer.
Where commissioned, appropriate patients are able to obtain specified GSL, and P medicines at NHS expense. They may also be able to access certain POM medicines under an appropriate PGD.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 044/17: Analysis of Minor Ailment Services data (July 2017)
This Community Pharmacy England Briefing provides details of an analysis carried out by Pinnacle Health Partnership of data from Minor Ailment Services (MAS) commissioned from community pharmacies and collected via the PharmOutcomes system.
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 043/17: Analysis of Minor Ailment Services in England (July 2017)
Following a review of Minor Ailment Service (MAS) service specifications and other associated documents, Community Pharmacy England has conducted an analysis on the different MAS commissioned across England. This Community Pharmacy England Briefing provides a summary of this analysis which may be of particular interest to LPCs developing proposals for MAS in their area or those who are reviewing existing MAS.
Service case study: New GP2Pharmacy service in South Tyneside (January 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 038/15: Community Pharmacy England Update on negotiations on a national Minor Ailments Advice Service (Jul 2015)
Community Pharmacy England had hoped that it would be able to reach agreement with the NHS on such a service as part of the 2015/16 settlement and in lengthy discussions with the NHS we had developed a detailed proposal for this. NHS England subsequently decided not to pursue this. The Briefing contains a more detailed update on negotiations on a national Minor Ailments Advice Service.
Community Pharmacy England and PAGB submission to DH on minor ailments (Dec 2007)
Other resources
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) – The value of community pharmacy: full report and summary report.
This report contains a chapter which provides PwC’s assessment of the value associated with community pharmacy’s current role in providing minor ailments services in England.
Template service specification
Needle & Syringe exchange template service specification (Microsoft Word)
Needle & Syringe exchange template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers) and associated resources on the service. LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Needle and syringe programme (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 013/14: NICE public health guidance – Needle and syringe programmes (Apr 2014)
NICE has issued new guidance on needle and syringe programmes (PH52), and the majority of the ten recommendations include actions by community pharmacy, as most of the current services are provided by pharmacies. The recommendations will be taken into account by local authorities when reviewing and commissioning local services and this Briefing summarises the guidance and recommended actions.
The Community Pharmacy England resource Community Pharmacy – at the Heart of Public Health describes the main public health services that are provided by community pharmacies and the evidence base for these services.
Other resources
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) – The value of community pharmacy: full report and summary report.
This report contains a chapter which provides PwC’s assessment of the value associated with community pharmacy’s current role in providing needle & syringe exchange services in England.
The Department of Health, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Public Health England have produced a Widening the availability of naloxone (Updated Jun 2016) factsheet explaining the regulations that were introduced on the 1st October 2015 and how they can be implemented.
The Professional Standards for Public Health Practice for Pharmacy (Mar 2014) provide a framework to help pharmacy teams, commissioners and those contracting services to design, implement, deliver and monitor high quality public health practice through pharmacy.
This section contains a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers) and associated resources on the service. LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, phamracy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
In April 2008 the Department of Health (DH) published Putting prevention first. Vascular Checks: risk assessment and management which announced the development of a Vascular Risk Assessment (VRA) service across England for people aged 40 to 74 years. Two days after that announcement DH published its pharmacy White Paper, Pharmacy in England – Building on strengths, delivering the future, which highlighted the role of community pharmacy in the provision of VRA.
In April 2009 the Department of Health launched the public branding for the VRA programme – NHS Health Check.
More detail on the programme has been published in two Department of Health documents:
Putting prevention first- vascular checks: risk assessment and management – next steps guidance for primary care trusts (November 2008)
NHS Health Check: Vascular Risk Assessment and Management Best Practice Guidance (April 2009)
What is the aim of the programme?
The aim of the NHS Health Check programme is to offer a straightforward risk assessment for diseases affecting the vascular system, including diabetes and chronic kidney disease, to everyone between 40 and 74 years of age. It is expected that once fully implemented, the programme will prevent on average 1,600 heart attacks and strokes, and save at least 650 lives each year.
The longer term aims of the NHS Health Check programme are:
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To reduce premature death from related vascular conditions including Coronary Heart Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, stroke, Transient Ischaemic Attacks and Peripheral Arterial Disease;
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To reduce the incidence of these related vascular conditions; and
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To narrow inequalities in premature death from these related vascular conditions.
When did it start?
The programme was introduced by PCTs from 1 April 2009; in April 2013 local authorities took over responsibility for commissioning the service.
Template service specification
Community Pharmacy England has developed a template national service specification for the NHS Health Check service, working collaboratively with the Department of Health’s Vascular Team and the Medicines, Pharmacy and Industry Division. The template service specification provides a starting point for the development of local service specifications by LPCs and local authorities.
NHS Health Check template service specification (Microsoft Word)
NHS Health Check template service specification (PDF)
Community Pharmacy England support for LPCs and community pharmacists
In February 2009 Community Pharmacy England organised a series of seminars on VRA for LPCs across England in order to support them in making a bid for a pharmacy based VRA service in their local area.
Alongside the seminars Community Pharmacy England published guidance, in three parts, for LPCs. The guidance contains a wealth of information and links relating to VRA, setting up the service, standards, assessment of costs, and much more. As this is a working resource for a new and evolving Enhanced service and the documents contain a large number of embedded links to other resources, they are only available in electronic format via the links below.
Part 1 of the guidance contains background information to support LPCs’ preparation prior to developing a local VRA service.
Part 2 supports LPCs with making the case for a VRA service commissioned from community pharmacy. It provides a step by step approach to making a bid. Not all steps may be relevant in your area, depending on local circumstances.
This section has a linked template PowerPoint presentation that will help LPCs to highlight the added value that community pharmacy can bring to the delivery of a VRA service.
Part 3 of this guide contains guidance on the use of a financial spreadsheet to assist LPCs in developing an effective bid. The spreadsheet can be downloaded here. The introductory presentation on how to use the spreadsheet delivered by Mike Dent (Head of Finance) at the LPC seminars can be downloaded here. Queries on the use of the spreadsheet should be directed to Mike Dent.
A copy of the PowerPoint presentation used at the LPC seminars can be downloaded here.
The Community Pharmacy England resource Community Pharmacy – at the Heart of Public Health describes the main public health services that are provided by community pharmacies and the evidence base for these services.
Useful resources and websites
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: NHS Health Checks (June 2019)
e-Learning for healthcare – NHS Health Check e-learning
Pfizer Health Partnerships – Cardiovascular disease resources (March 2017)
LGA and PHE NHS Health Check FAQs
The Professional Standards for Public Health Practice for Pharmacy provide a framework to help pharmacy teams, commissioners and those contracting services to design, implement, deliver and monitor high quality public health practice through pharmacy.
The NHS Health Check in England: an evaluation of the first 4 years
Template service specification
On Demand Availability of Specialist Drugs template service specification (Microsoft Word)
On Demand Availability of Specialist Drugs template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers). LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Template service specification
Out of Hours template service specification (Microsoft Word)
Out of Hours template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers). LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
COVID-19: Out-of-Hours supply of medication to Care Homes
Following the publication of a letter from Sir Simon Stevens and Amanda Prichard outlining the second phase of NHS response to COVID-19, Dr Nikki Kanani, Matthew Winn and Ed Waller published a letter asking primary care and community health services to help provide the best possible care for care home residents. As part of this urgent response to COVID-19 in care home settings, one of the key tasks under the title of ‘Service enablers’ in the letter is that:
CCGs must ensure that clear and consistent out of hours provision is in place for each care home. Out of hours provision to care homes may be provided via out of hours providers and community health services and should include arrangements for the supply and availability of medication through community pharmacy or other routes. This support must be clearly signposted to care homes.
In response to this and as a result of discussions between the LPC Rapid Action Team and Community Pharmacy England, a task and finish group has developed an LPC guidance document and service specification template after a review of existing and past out-of-hours medication services, to assist Local Pharmaceutical Committees (LPCs) with any approaches by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to explore the options to best provide care home residents with out-of-hours provision of medication.
LPC Guidance Document (PDF) (For LPC use only)
Template out-of-hours service specification (Care Homes) (Microsoft Word)
Template out-of-hours service specification (Care Homes) (PDF)
Other resources
Community Pharmacy England and NHS England worked together in 2014 to review the commissioning of out of hours (rota) services. The results of this collaborative working can be viewed by LPC members by logging into the LPC Resources Centre on the Community Pharmacy England website.
Template service specification
Patient Group Direction template service specification (Microsoft Word)
Patient Group Direction template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Employers) and associated resources on the service. LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Patient Group Directions (PGDs) provide a legal framework that allows some medicines to be supplied and/or administered by named, authorised, registered health professionals, to a pre-defined group of patients needing preventative treatment or treatment for a condition without the need for a prescription. PGDs may be appropriate when medicine use follows a predictable pattern, such as for patients attending for contraception, or where patients seek unscheduled care, such as for a minor ailment in a community pharmacy or walk-in centre.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Minor ailment service via PGD (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 004/13: Patient Group Directions (Jan 2013, updated Aug 2013)
Previously PGDs were mainly authorised by PCTs but this needed to change when the new NHS organisational structures were implemented in April 2013. This briefing summarises the process which needs to be followed locally when PGDs are transferred to a new organisation.
Other resources
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has published a PGD guide outlining who can supply or administer specific medicines to patients without a doctor under a PGD and which medicines can be administered.
The NHS Patient Group Directions (PGD) website provides, and signposts to, tools and resources which will help guide organisations and practitioners through the PGD legal framework and associated processes with PGDs.
NICE good practice guidance on Patient Group Directions (Aug 2013)
This guidance was developed to help individuals and organisations who are considering the need for, developing, authorising, using and/or updating PGDs to ensure they are appropriate, legal and that relevant governance arrangements are in place within commissioning and provider organisations. The guidance underlines that supplying and/or administering medicines under PGD should be reserved for situations where this offers an advantage for patient care without compromising patient safety and where there are clear governance arrangements and accountability.
Is extension of an expiry date of a PGD allowed without review and re-authorisation of the PGD?
Specialist Pharmacy Service provide advice on this matter on their website.
On 20th July 2015, Community Pharmacy England announced that as part of the 2015/16 community pharmacy funding settlement NHS England had agreed to allow community pharmacies in England to offer a seasonal influenza vaccination service which will be commissioned as an Advanced Service and will commence from September 2015.
Find out more about the Flu Vaccination Advanced Service
Template service specification
Seasonal Flu Vaccination service specification (Microsoft Word)
Seasonal Influenza Vaccination service specification (PDF)
Community Pharmacy England resources
Service case study: A partnered and co-ordinated flu season campaign with GPs (December 2016)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 007/15: Analysis of Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Services 2014/15 in England (Feb 2015)
Following an email survey and a review of seasonal influenza (flu) service specifications and other associated documents, Community Pharmacy England has conducted an analysis on the different flu vaccination services commissioned across England during the 2014/15 flu season. This Community Pharmacy England Briefing provides a summary of this analysis which may be of particular interest to LPCs developing proposals for a seasonal flu vaccination service in their area or those who are reviewing their existing seasonal flu vaccination service for the 2015/16 flu season.
Service case study: Sheffield LPC’s Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme (2013)
Other resources
Template service specification
Sharps disposal service specification (Microsoft Word)
Sharps disposal service specification (PDF)
Above is a draft template service specification that has not been nationally agreed and is not the final version; it may be used to inform local discussions on service development.
Community Pharmacy England resources
The Community Pharmacy England resource Community Pharmacy – at the Heart of Public Health describes the main public health services that are provided by community pharmacies and the evidence base for these services.
Other resources
The Professional Standards for Public Health Practice for Pharmacy (Mar 2014) provide a framework to help pharmacy teams, commissioners and those contracting services to design, implement, deliver and monitor high quality public health practice through pharmacy.
The King’s Fund – What is social prescribing? (February 2017)
The University of York – Evidence to inform the commissioning of social prescribing (January 2015)
Template service specification
Stop Smoking template service specification (Microsoft Word)
Stop Smoking template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers) and associated resources on the service. LPCs and pharmacy owners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Stop smoking (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 070/13: NICE public health guidance: Tobacco – harm reduction approaches to smoking (Jun 2013)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended wider use of licensed nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smokers who struggle to quit, in landmark national public health guidance on how healthcare professionals should help smokers who find it difficult to give up.
The Community Pharmacy England resource Community Pharmacy – at the Heart of Public Health describes the main public health services that are provided by community pharmacies and the evidence base for these services.
Other resources
Stop smoking services: models of delivery (Public Health England, September 2017)
This document is intended to support Directors of Public Health and local healthcare commissioners with the provision of local stop smoking support; it provides useful information to be considered by LPCs and others when community pharmacy stop smoking services are being developed.
Public Health England & Royal Society for Public Health – Everyday interactions (June 2017)
This resource aims to support healthcare professionals to record what they ‘do’ in their interactions with individuals to demonstrate impact on public health priorities.
The Professional Standards for Public Health Practice for Pharmacy (Mar 2014) provide a framework to help pharmacy teams, commissioners and those contracting services to design, implement, deliver and monitor high quality public health practice through pharmacy.
NHS Yorkshire and the Humber free e-learning package on brief advice for tobacco cessation
Template service specification and associated documents
Supervised Administration Service template service specification (Microsoft Word)
Supervised Administration Service template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers) and associated resources on the service. LPCs and pharmacy ownres are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Model Claim Form for Supervised Administration
Pharmaceutical Services for Drug Users
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Supervised consumption of medicines (Sep 2015)
The Community Pharmacy England resource Community Pharmacy – at the Heart of Public Health describes the main public health services that are provided by community pharmacies and the evidence base for these services.
Other resources
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) – The value of community pharmacy: full report and summary report.
This report contains a chapter which provides PwC’s assessment of the value associated with community pharmacy’s current role in providing supervised administration services in England.
The Department of Health, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Public Health England have produced a Widening the availability of naloxone (Updated Jun 2016) factsheet explaining the regulations that were introduced on the 1st October 2015 and how they can be implemented.
The Professional Standards for Public Health Practice for Pharmacy (Mar 2014) provide a framework to help pharmacy teams, commissioners and those contracting services to design, implement, deliver and monitor high quality public health practice through pharmacy.
Template service specification
Supplementary Prescribing by Pharmacists template service specification (Microsoft Word)
Supplementary Prescribing by Pharmacists template service specification (PDF)
Above is a nationally negotiated template service specification (developed and agreed by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and NHS Employers). LPCs and pharmacy woners are able to negotiate to provide services in accordance with this specification where a local need for the service is determined. Alternatively LPCs, pharmacy owners or the service commissioner are free to develop their own local services in response to identified needs.
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 011/15: Tuberculosis (Mar 2015)
This Community Pharmacy England Briefing provides background information on tuberculosis (TB) and highlights the TB public health problem in the UK. The Briefing summarises the Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England ‘Public Collaborative Tuberculosis Strategy for England 2015 to 2020’ by highlighting elements of the document that are of most relevance to community pharmacy. In addition, the Briefing provides details on two different TB services that are currently being commissioned across two Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) areas as well as useful resources for patients and for pharmacists and their teams to access.
Service case study: NHS 111 refer patients with low acuity conditions to community pharmacies (December 2017)
Success for pharmacy at the NHS Flu Fighter Awards (April 2017)
Find out more about the Flu Vaccination Advanced Service
NHS Employers: Carers award winner – Cray Hill Pharmacy, Kent (2016)
Service case study: Hull pharmacy wins Flu fighter carers award (May 2015)
Public Health England – Protocol for ordering, storing and handling vaccines (Updated Apr 2014)
Pinnacle Health/PharmOutcomes – Flash Card on Hepatitis B vaccination (Oct 2013)
For LPC use in discussions with commissioners. Hard copies of the flash card can be obtained by emailing helpdesk@phpartnership.com
Public Health England – Protocol for ordering, storing and handling vaccines (Updated Apr 2014)
Public Health England – People with learning disabilities: making reasonable adjustments (July 2017)
Template service specification
Weight management service (children) (Microsoft Word)
Weight management service (children) (PDF)
Weight management service (adults) (Microsoft Word)
Weight management service (adults) (PDF)
Above are draft template service specifications that have not been nationally agreed and are not in their final version; they may be used to inform local discussions on service development.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Think Pharmacy prospectus: Weight management service (June 2019)
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 033/13: Developing a specification for Weight Management Services (Apr 2013)
In England, most people are now overweight or obese and the Government has published a policy for reducing obesity and improving diet: Healthy Lives, Healthy People: a call to action on obesity in England. This Community Pharmacy England Briefing summarises the Government policy on obesity and guidance on the development of service specifications for weight management services.
The Community Pharmacy England resource Community Pharmacy – at the Heart of Public Health describes the main public health services that are provided by community pharmacies and the evidence base for these services.
Other resources
Public Health England & Royal Society for Public Health – Everyday interactions (June 2017)
This resource aims to support healthcare professionals to record what they ‘do’ in their interactions with individuals to demonstrate impact on public health priorities.
Public Health England has published a series of resources focussing on tier 2 adult weight management services (June 2017)
The Professional Standards for Public Health Practice for Pharmacy (Mar 2014) provide a framework to help pharmacy teams, commissioners and those contracting services to design, implement, deliver and monitor high quality public health practice through pharmacy.
Additional resources and relevant Community Pharmacy England briefings
Community Pharmacy England Briefing: Contracts and the NHS Standard Contract
Community Pharmacy England Briefing: Contracts and SLAs
Community Pharmacy England Briefing: Public Services (Social Value) Act
Community Pharmacy England Briefing: JSNA and JHWS
Community Pharmacy England Briefing: Local commissioning challenge checklist
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