RSV and Pertussis Vaccination Service

RSV

RSV is an enveloped RNA virus, in the same family as the human parainfluenza viruses and mumps and measles viruses. It is one of the common viruses that cause coughs and colds in winter, being transmitted by large droplets and by secretions from contact with an infected person. The virus can survive on surfaces or objects for about four to seven hours and the incubation period is short at about three to five days.

RSV circulates in temperate climates and epidemics generally start in October and last for four to five months, peaking in December. The sharp winter peak varies little in timing or magnitude, in contrast to influenza virus infection which is much less predictable in its timing.

In most people, RSV infection causes a mild respiratory illness, but for a small number of people who are at risk of more severe respiratory disease, it might cause pneumonia or even death.

High risk groups are the very young (under one year of age) and the elderly. Infants aged less than six months frequently develop the most severe disease and require hospitalisation. Children born prematurely or with underlying lung disease, and the elderly with chronic illness, are also at risk of developing severe disease.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that “there is a significant burden of RSV illness in the UK population and unmet public health need, which has a considerable impact on NHS services during the winter months” and that “an RSV immunisation programme, that is cost effective, should be developed for both infants and older adults”.

Following on from the JCVI advice, NHS England confirmed in a letter that it would commission:

• An older adult programme (this is predominately be commissioned through general practice as an Essential service); and
• A programme during pregnancy to protect infants (this will predominantly be commissioned through NHS Trusts).

The adult programme covers:

• An annual routine all-year round programme for adults turning 75 years on or after 1st September 2024, who are at least aged 75 at the point of vaccination and remain eligible until they attain 80 years of age;
• A one-off catch-up campaign for older adults aged 75-79 years on 1st September 2024 who will remain eligible until they attain 80 years of age; and
• To protect infants, all women who are at least 28 weeks pregnant on 1st September 2024, will be offered a single dose of the RSV vaccine. After that, pregnant women will become eligible as they reach 28 weeks gestation and remain eligible up to birth.

NHS England estimate the following cohort sizes for the adult programmes:

• Circa 486,000 people per year
• Circa 2,350,000 people in total.

RSV is estimated to account for 175,000 annual general practice episodes of care in those age 65 years and older in the UK. It is also estimated that in each winter season, there are 4,000 deaths due to RSV in those aged over 75 years in England and Wales.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates that RSV accounts for approximately 33,500 hospitalisations annually in children aged under 5 years old and is a leading cause of infant mortality globally, with 20 to 30 deaths per year in the UK. A study of RSV vaccination of pregnant women indicated that infants had a 70% reduced risk of severe lower respiratory tract disease caused by the RSV virus.

Analysis by UKHSA, Imperial College London and Oxford Population Health also suggests that 640,000 antibiotic prescriptions are issued each year in response to RSV infections accounting for 2.1% of antibiotic prescriptions from English GPs. The vaccination programme will therefore, have a part to play in tackling antibiotic resistance by reducing the number of infections and so, the need for antibiotics in these cases.

Community pharmacy RSV service

As part of the NHS Vaccination Strategy, NHS England announced it would commission a supplementary pharmacy vaccination service to run alongside general practice where a local population need had been identified. The service would seek to commission via a competitive process up to 50 pharmacies as ‘early adopter’ sites across two Integrated Care Boards (ICB) in the East of England.

The plan was to commission 25 pharmacies in NHS Mid and South Essex ICB and a further 25 in NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB. The approach was to enable NHS England to understand vaccine supply, vaccination event recording and data flows etc., with a view to expand provision rapidly. Pharmacies began offering the service in October 2024. The service was commissioned as a Local Enhanced Service (LES) by NHS England in consultation with the associated Local Pharmaceutical Committees (LPC).

Following findings from the pharmacy early adopters, NHS England has commissioned an amended service as a National Enhanced Service (NES) for up to 200 additional community pharmacy sites, which will include both RSV and pertussis vaccinations. Under this type of service, NHS England commissions an Enhanced service that is nationally specified. This requires NHS England to consult with Community Pharmacy England on matters relating to the service specification and remuneration for the service.

This differs from a LES that is locally developed and designed to meet local health needs and for which NHS England would consult with LPCs. A NES allows the agreement of standard conditions nationally, while still allowing the flexibility for local decisions to commission the service to meet local population needs, as part of a nationally coordinated programme.

While final agreement on local areas is pending, recent uptake data suggests that sites will be concentrated in the London, Midlands and North-West (including Greater Manchester) regions.

Pertussis

Pertussis (whooping cough) is a respiratory disease caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacterium. Pertussis can cause serious and life-threatening complications including pneumonia, difficulty in breathing (apnoea) and seizures. Severe complications and deaths occur mostly in infants under six months of age. The disease is preventable by vaccination.

Pertussis usually begins with mild, cold-like symptoms that develop over one to two weeks into coughing fits which can be severe. The cough often can last for two to three months and because of this, in some countries, pertussis is known as the ‘100-day cough’.

In response to a national outbreak and the death of a number of infants in 2012, the Department of Health and Social Care announced the introduction of a temporary immunisation programme for pregnant women. In June 2014, the JCVI reviewed the programme and agreed that “acceptance of the programme amongst pregnant women was good and that relatively high coverage, coupled with high effectiveness of the vaccine had resulted in a reduction in disease and mortality in young infants”. As a result, JCVI advised that the maternal vaccination should continue as a routine programme.

Maternal vaccination protects infants by boosting pertussis immunity during pregnancy. This enables the mother to transfer a high level of pertussis antibodies across the placenta to her unborn child. Passive protection is, therefore, provided for infants against pertussis from birth until they are due their first dose of primary immunisations at eight weeks of age.

Although cases of pertussis were low during the COVID-19 pandemic due to measures such as social distancing, the number of pertussis cases started to rise again from summer 2023.

Improving vaccine uptake

According to the UKHSA, the number of women receiving a pertussis-containing vaccine has fallen year on year over the last few years. For 2022/23, vaccine coverage was 60.7%. This means many pregnant women are not receiving a vaccine to protect their infant at a time when the number of cases of pertussis is increasing.

To optimise the uptake of the pertussis-containing vaccine in pregnant women the vaccination is being added to the pharmacy service to increase the ease of access to the vaccination.

NHS England, in consultation with the ICB, will determine if there is an unmet local population need and whether a service needs to be commissioned. Where a need is identified, NHS England will publish the opportunity as a tender and run tender process in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

Pharmacy owners will bee invited to consider and submit their responses to any opportunity where they feel they can meet the requirements set out by the Commissioner in their invitation to tender (ITT).

Each opportunity will be published, as and when it becomes available, on the Contracts Finder and Find a Tender websites. Therefore, pharmacy owners who are interested in expressing an interest may need to review these websites regularly to check for opportunities. A published opportunity may contain separate Lots for different ICBs.

ITT documents will be published on the Health Family Portal (registration required).

The timetable for each individual opportunity (i.e. the identified need and the associated procurement advertised on the Health Family Portal) will be set out in the ITT document relevant to that opportunity.

Pharmacy owners who wish to express an interest, should first read the ITT documents to ensure they are able to meet the commissioner’s minimum requirements and the requirements specified in the service specification. Pharmacy owners can then complete and submit all tender responses in line with the specified timetable for the relevant opportunity.

Review for opportunities via Contracts Finder or Find a Tender

Access the notice of the opportunity

Tendered areas

Midlands

Procurement in three lots for a total of 66 pharmacies to cover the populations of:

• Lot 1 – Black Country ICB – 22 pharmacies in designated postcode areas
• Lot 2 – Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB – 22 pharmacies in designated postcode areas
• Lot 3 – Birmingham and Solihull ICB – 22 pharmacies in designated locality areas

London

Procurement to be confirmed.

Northwest

Procurement to be confirmed.

Provision of the service at the pharmacy

Where commissioners identify that there is need for further provision beyond the general practice and NHS Trust services, NHS England we will launch a competitive procurement process for further fixed sites. Opportunities under the site selection process will be published on the Find a Tender website.

Pharmacy owners located in the relevant ICB areas who wish to participate in the service at their pharmacy can submit a response to the tender, subject to meeting the minimum requirements. These are detailed in the ITT guidance document, but the following summarises the key points.

Pharmacy owners:

• Meeting the GPhC premises standards;
• The area where vaccines are administered must be distinct from the general public areas;
• Maintenance of infection prevention and control standards; and
• There is a suitable area where patients can be observed after vaccination as advised by the MHRA or if necessary for that individual.

Provision of the service away from the pharmacy

Currently, there are no plans to permit provision of the service from a location away from the pharmacy.

Key documents

Service specification for the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Vaccination and Pertussis Vaccination Enhanced service (Awaiting publication by NHS England)
The service specification describes the requirements for provision of the service and it is essential reading for all pharmacists or pharmacy technicians providing the service.

RSV Vaccine Patient Group Direction
The  Patient Group Direction (PGD) provides the legal mechanism for administration of RSV vaccine under the service.

Pertussis Vaccine Patient Group Direction 
The Patient Group Direction (PGD) provides the legal mechanism for administration of a low dose diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis-containing vaccine, with or without inactivated poliomyelitis (Tdap or dTaP/IPV) to pregnant women from week 16 of pregnancy under the service.

Eligible cohorts

The service specification confirms the eligible cohorts for the vaccinations in the service.

The service covers the following patients:

RSV vaccinations

• Those who are at least 75 years of age and have not yet reached 80 years of age at the date of administration of the vaccination; or
• Those who are 79 years of age on 31st August 2024 who can be vaccinated up until 31st August 2025; and
• Those who are pregnant and from 28 weeks of pregnancy until delivery.

Pertussis vaccination

• Those who are pregnant and from 16 weeks of pregnancy until delivery. Maximum protection for the baby is achieved when vaccination occurs between 20 and 32 weeks of pregnancy.

Vaccinators are not authorised to administer either vaccine to other patient groups as part of the vaccination service. If a vaccine is administered to patients in other groups, the pharmacy owner will not be paid for that vaccination and the administration will have been undertaken outside the authority of the legal mechanism (PGD).

Vaccine procurement

The vaccines to be used in the service will be procured centrally and will be available to order online via the ImmForm website. See the ImmForm helpsheet for information on registering for an ImmForm account. The vaccines will be provided free of charge for this programme.

The RSV vaccine that will be available to order is Abrysvo®. It is supplied in single dose packs measuring 73mm x 35mm x 116mm (H x W x D). Each pack will include a vial for reconstitution (containing drug product), a pre-filled syringe (containing sterile water diluent) and one unattached needle for administration.

ADACEL (Tdap) is the vaccine that will be supplied for the maternal pertussis vaccination programme. It contains low dose diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis antigens.

Although ADACEL® (non-inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) containing pertussis vaccine) is preferred for the maternal programme, if ADACEL is not available and to obtain it would result in a delay in vaccinating a pregnant woman, either Boostrix-IPV or REPEVAX vaccine should be given instead. It is imperative to ensure the individual is offered a suitable and available vaccine containing a pertussis-containing antigen, rather than risk not receiving a pertussis containing vaccine during pregnancy.

Ordering controls may be in place to enable UKHSA to balance incoming supply with demand. Details on ordering will be available on ImmForm and in Vaccine Update in due course. It is recommended that pharmacies hold no more than 2 weeks’ worth of stock.

This section contains additional information and resources to support pharmacy owners and their teams to provide the RSV Vaccination and Pertussis Vaccination Enhanced Service.

The Patient Group Directions

The administration of an RSV or Pertussis vaccine – both of which are Prescription Only Medicines (POM) – as part of the vaccination service are legally authorised by associated PGDs.

The PGDs for the service have been developed and clinically approved by UKHSA. NHS England has authorised their use by an appropriately trained practitioner to provide the Enhanced service.

The practitioners who can legally supply and administer under the PGDs are listed in the Qualifications and professional registration section of the PGDs and this mirrors the groups of practitioners authorised to supply or administer medication via a PGD under current legislation. That group of professionals includes pharmacy technicians. Any listed practitioners must only provide the service under the supervision of a pharmacist, trained in vaccinations (including a clear understanding of this service).

The PGD cannot be used to authorise administration of the vaccines under any other NHS or private services.

Appropriately trained practitioners, who will administer the vaccines under the authority of the PGDs must:

• Download a copy of the latest version of the PGDs from the NHS England website;
• Read the PGDs and ensure they fully understand their content, including the eligible patient groups, the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the record keeping requirements; and
• Complete the Practitioner declaration to confirm they have read and understood the content of the PGDs and that they are willing and competent to work to them within their professional code of conduct.

The Authorising Manager declaration must then be completed. The Authorising Manager’s role is to confirm the practitioner(s):

• Is/are aware of the service specification and requirements for provision of the service;
• Have demonstrated their competence to provide the service; and
• Has/have the organisation’s approval to provide the service.

In certain circumstances, for example, a community pharmacy where the pharmacist who will administer vaccines is also the superintendent pharmacist or pharmacy owner, it may be necessary for the authorising manager to be the same person as the practitioner, though this situation should be avoided wherever possible.

These steps must be completed before an individual practitioner is authorised to administer vaccines as part of the service.

Joint guidance and briefing documents

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programmes letter (24th June 2024)

NHS England guidance and briefing documents

RSV vaccination programme hub (FutureNHS collaboration platform)
If you do not have access to the Future NHS platform, you can register directly on the site using an NHSmail email address or using a similar professional email address by emailing P_C_N-manager@future.nhs.uk.

Vaccination in Pregnancy programme hub (FutureNHS collaboration platform)
If you do not have access to the Future NHS platform, you can register directly on the site using an NHSmail email address or using a similar professional email address by emailing P_C_N-manager@future.nhs.uk.

RSV vaccination invitation
This page provides RSV invitation materials in easy read, audio, British Sign Language (BSL) and other languages.

UKHSA guidance and briefing documents

RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme

UKHSA RSV guidance, data and analysis hub

Pertussis

UKHSA Pertussis guidance, data and analysis hub

General advice

Protocol for ordering, storing and handling vaccines

Vaccine incident guidance: responding to errors in vaccine storage, handling and administration

Immunisation against infectious disease: the green book (Chapter 24 Pertussis and chapter 27a Respiratory syncytial virus)

Vaccine Update

Other resources

Anaphylaxis action card – Personalise this card and keep it by the phone to guide staff on calling an ambulance if a patient has an anaphylactic reaction to a vaccine.

Anaphylactic guidelines and algorithm poster (Resuscitation Council UK) (May 2021)

There are several conditions that are specified in the service specification which pharmacy owners must comply with prior to provision of the service. These include:

• Staff who will provide the service must be competent to provide the service (see section on training requirements and resources for further details).

• Pharmacy owners must have an SOP in place for provision of the service, having regard to the requirements of the PGDs and service specification of which all pharmacy staff involved in provision of the service are aware, and which covers the following points as a minimum:
  • • the provision of the service to patients and the roles of different staff members;
    • the ongoing conditions under which the service needs to be provided (specified in the service specification);
    • cold chain integrity;
    • needle stick injuries; and
    • the identification and management of adverse reactions;
    • the handling, removal and safe disposal of any clinical waste related to the provision of the service.

• The pharmacy must have a consultation room which meets the applicable requirements of the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations. Vaccinations can be offered in any area of the pharmacy where suitable facilities are available, infection control standards can be maintained and patient confidentiality and dignity is able to be respected. However, the vaccination must take place in the consultation room wherever the patient expresses this preference.

These requirements do not prevent the presence of other persons where the patient requests or consents to this. For example, where the practitioner uses a chaperone, or wishes to include a trainee pharmacist in the consultation as part of their training, this would be allowed if the patient consents. Similarly, the patient may prefer that they are accompanied by another person during the consultation.

Vaccinations should be administered under the supervision of a pharmacist, trained in vaccinations (including a clear understanding of this service). A record should be maintained of who that person is at any given time.

Where vaccinations are to be administered to those under 18 years of age during pregnancy, the pharmacy owner must ensure that vaccinators have a valid Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate.

Pharmacy owner checklist 

Once a pharmacy owner has been commissioned to provide the service, Community Pharmacy England’s implementation checklist can be used to guide them through the steps they need to take to prepare to provide the service. 

Download pharmacy owner implementation checklist for the NHS RSV and Pertussis Vaccination Service

Pharmacy professional checklist

Download the pharmacy professional implementation checklist for the NHS RSV and Pertussis Vaccination Service
This checklist provides suggested actions that pharmacy professionals need to undertake to prepare to provide the service.

Consultation room

Pharmacies must have a consultation room in order to be able to offer this service, which meets the requirements in the Terms of Service.

The consultation room must also have IT equipment accessible within the room to allow contemporaneous records of the consultations provided as part of this service. 

IT requirements 

NHS England has arranged IT support for the service – the record a vaccination service (RAVs). This must be used to record all RSV and pertussis vaccinations and to send messages containing the individual’s consultation outcomes to their general practice. 

Standard Operating Procedure 

Pharmacy owners must have an SOP for the service, which all staff participating in provision of the service must be familiar with and follow. 

Various pharmacy support organisations provide template SOPs which their members can personalise for use in their pharmacy.

Pharmacy owners must also ensure the service is included in their business continuity plan.

NHS Profile Manager

Once commissioned to provide the service, you must update your pharmacy’s service details on the NHS website using NHS Profile Manager. This will allow your pharmacy to be identified by the public and by other healthcare professionals as providers of the service.

Details on how to do this are available on our NHS Profile Manager webpage.

Engagement with local general practices

There is no specific requirement within the service specification for pharmacy owners to engage with local general practices prior to provision of the service. 

However, it is good practice to make them aware the pharmacy is participating in this service. A letter / email template to support pharmacy owners to notify GP practices that the pharmacy will be providing the service is available. 

Download the general practice letter / email service notification template (Microsoft Word) 

A briefing to provide information for general practice teams on the service is available to assist pharmacy owners to engage their local colleagues. 

Download the Briefing for general practice teams

The National Minimum Standards and Core Curriculum for Immunisation Training for Registered Healthcare Practitioners sets the standards and lists the essential topics which should be incorporated into immunisation training for registered healthcare practitioners.

People who will provide the RSV and Pertussis Vaccination Service must have completed practical training in vaccination that meets these requirements. There are a number of organisations that provide vaccination training for pharmacists and those that we have been made aware of are listed on our flu vaccination webpage.

Pharmacy owners will be expected to oversee and keep a record to confirm that all staff have undertaken training prior to participating in the administration of vaccinations. This includes any additional training associated with new vaccines that become available during the period of the service.

All persons involved in the administration of the vaccine must have:

• Completed the additional online RSV vaccination specific training modules and any pertussis vaccination specific training modules available on the e-learning for healthcare website;
• The necessary experience, skills and training to administer vaccines in general, including completion of the general immunisation training available on e-learning for healthcare and face-to-face administration training, where relevant;
• The necessary experience, skills and training to recognise and initial treatment of anaphylaxis;
• Where a healthcare professional is administering the vaccine, they must have:
  • Read and understood the clinical guidance available and ensure they keep up to date with new and updated guidance as it is published; and
  • Understood and be familiar with the PGDs for the RSV and Pertussis vaccines, including guidance on who can use them.

Pharmacy owners must ensure that staff are familiar with all guidance relating to the administration of the different types of vaccine and are capable of the provision of vaccinations using the different types of vaccine.

A set of NHS training slides have been published and are available to download.

• RSV for older adults vaccination programme slide set (July 2024)
• RSV maternal vaccination programme slide set (July 2024)
• Pertussis training slide set (May 2024)

Pharmacy team training 

The whole pharmacy team can proactively promote this service. Teams should be briefed on the service and coached on how to best approach people about the service.  A pharmacy team briefing  is available to assist pharmacy owners to engage and coach their team members. 

This section provides some of the practical requirements related to provision of the RSV and Pertussis Vaccination Service.

Patient consent

As with the provision of any pharmacy service, the patient must consent to being vaccinated.

The General Pharmaceutical Council’s Guidance on Consent provides information on consent for pharmacists and their teams.

Prior to vaccination, consent must be sought from each patient for the administration of the vaccine.  The patient should also be advised of the information sharing that will take place for the appropriate recording of the vaccination in their GP practice medical record and information that will be shared with NHS England and the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) as part of post-payment verification, evaluation of service delivery and service evaluation and research.

Patient consent can be obtained verbally and should be recorded in the pharmacy’s clinical record for the service. Should the patient decline the vaccination at any stage, this must also be recorded in the clinical record for the service.

Service records, IT support and sharing of data

Pharmacy owners must ensure the vaccination is recorded on the same day that it is administered unless exceptional circumstances apply. Where the IT system is unavailable due to exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the pharmacy owner, then the record of vaccination must be added to the system as soon as possible after it becomes available again. In this circumstance, the commissioner must be notified if this will result in records of vaccinations being added to the point of care system on a different day than the vaccinations were administered.

Where the record of the vaccination event is not created within 15 days of the vaccination being administered, the pharmacy owner shall not be eligible for the item of service fees.

Where a record of the vaccination needs to be amended or has not been created on the point of care system, the pharmacy owner is responsible for undertaking the amendment or creation as soon as reasonably possible following notification that the record contains an error. All new or updated / edited records in RAVS automatically flow each night to the patient’s general practice and NHS England.

To support business continuity provisions in the event of IT issues only

Where the IT system is unavailable due to exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the pharmacy owner, then the record of vaccination must be added to the system as soon as possible after it becomes available again. NHS England has provided a record form that may be used to maintain provision of the service in such circumstances only.

Record a Vaccination record form (Microsoft Word)

Additional guidance on what to do if RAVS is unavailable can be found here.

Storage of vaccines

Vaccines should be stored in line with the requirements set out by their manufacturer in the Summary of Product Characteristics. Consideration will also be needed regarding any requirements issues from UKHSA, NHS England, all associated guidance set out in the Storage distribution and disposal of vaccines chapter of the Green Book and all associated Standard Operating Procedures

Further guidance is also available in the 2014 Public Health England issued guidance on the protocol for ordering, storing and handling vaccines for all healthcare providers involved in vaccinations, including community pharmacies.

All refrigerators in which vaccines are stored must have a maximum / minimum thermometer. Readings must be taken and recorded from the thermometer on all working days.

Information resources for patients to use before/during/after consultations

RSV & Pertussis Vaccination Service – online information sources for patients

When pharmacy professionals are providing these vaccinations, there are several leaflets/websites for patients to be signposted to.

This resource lists all the patient-facing leaflets/website links, including the marketing authorisation holder’s patient information leaflets (hard copies will be available within the vaccine’s packaging, with copies also being available from medicines.org.uk/emc).

Each patient being administered a vaccine should be given a copy of the manufacturer’s patient information leaflet about the vaccine or be directed to a web-based version of the leaflet.

Hyperlinks to the leaflets/websites are listed, alongside QR codes for each leaflet/website so patients can scan this to access the leaflet/website link on their mobile phones.

UKHSA leaflets to promote the service are also available and these can be downloaded and printed or patients be directed to a web-based version of the leaflets. Links to these can be found in the Promoting the service to patients section below.

Clinical waste

Pharmacy owners are required to make arrangements for the removal and safe disposal of any clinical waste and PPE related to the provision of this service.

Pharmacy owners must also ensure that staff are appropriately trained and made aware of the risks associated with the handling and disposal of clinical waste and that correct procedures are used to minimise those risks. A needle stick injury procedure must be in place.

Provision of data to NHS England

Claims for payment for the service will be made to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) (see section on Funding and claiming payment for further details) and they will subsequently share data on service provision with NHS England.

NHS England will confirm in due course the method by which pharmacy owners will submit data on service provisions to claim payment.

Record keeping and data management 

Pharmacy owners should maintain appropriate clinical records to ensure effective ongoing service provision and audit.

Clinical records of service provisions should be retained for an appropriate period. Records of the reimbursement data reported to the commissioner should be retained for three years for PPV purposes.

Where the records relate to a RSV vaccination or a pertussis vaccination in pregnancy, the Pharmacy Contractor must retain the records for a period of 25 years in line with Records Management Code of Practice.

Beyond the above requirement, as pharmacy owners are the data controller, it is for each pharmacy owner to determine what the appropriate length of time is, beyond three years that the clinical records are kept for. Decisions on this matter should be documented in the SOP and should be in line with Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care.

The pharmacy is required to report any patient safety incidents related to the service in line with the approved particulars for patient safety for pharmacies.

When pharmacy teams provide the service, notifying the patient’s general practice is an important service requirement.

Data recorded in the RAVS IT system regarding a patient’s vaccination will be shared with the patient’s general practice automatically.

Where a patient presents with an adverse drug reaction following the initial vaccination and the pharmacist believes this is of clinical significance, such that the patient’s general practice should be informed, this information should be shared with the general practice as soon as possible.

Community Pharmacy England resources

We have developed a range of materials which pharmacy owners can use to promote the availability of this service to patients.

• Posters for display (both ready to use and editable versions);
• Suggested social media or text messages;
• Flyers for attaching to prescription bags
  • RSV older adult vaccination flyer
  • RSV & Pertussis pregnant vaccination flyer.

We have developed a checklist so pharmacy owners can work through the checklist to see if there are any additional activities that they or their teams could participate in to promote the service to the public:

RSV and Pertussis Vaccination promotion to the public checklist

Developing your own marketing materials

If pharmacy owners decide to develop their own marketing materials to promote the service, they must ensure they comply with the requirements of the Terms of Service relating to promotion of services funded by the NHS.

If pharmacy owners choose to use the NHS identity on their marketing materials they must follow the primary care guidelines for use of the NHS identity.

An A-Z style guide of words and phrases about health and the NHS, which aims to make content aimed at patients easy to understand, is available on the NHS website. The NHS website team try to use words on their website that people use themselves when they talk about their problems and when they search for information on the internet. Community pharmacy teams may wish to refer to the guide when producing their own health content or communication materials.

Signposting patients 

A service finder, on the NHS website, lets members of the public and healthcare professionals search for a pharmacy that offers the service. This currently only signposts to the early adopter pharmacies in the East of England. NHS England will update the finder once new pharmacy sites are commissioned within commissioning ICBs.

Find a pharmacy that offers free RSV and Pertussis vaccinations – NHS

UKHSA resources

RSV 

Stickers, posters or patient leaflets to be delivered to you, please visit Health Publications and register for a health professional account. Searching for RSV should identify patient resources available. Digital resources such as the social media graphics and BSL videos are download only.

Leaflets & posters

Available free to order:

• Older Adults guide: product code: V2C24RSV01EN
• Older Adult guide in other languages
• Older Adults Poster: product code: RSVOAEN
  (also available in other languages, large print, BSL, Audio and braille. Search Publications – Health Publications)
• RSV maternal vaccination programme poster
• A guide to RSV vaccination for pregnant women (print)
• Pregnancy: how to help protect you and your baby patient leaflet (various languages)
• UKHSA flu, Whooping cough (Pertussis) and RSV leaflet for pregnant women

Copies of these leaflets can be ordered from the Health Publications Order point or by phoning 0300 123 1002 and quoting the reference numbers on the back pages of the leaflets.

• A quick links poster with QR codes to the Pregnancy: how to help protect you and your baby and the pertussis vaccination

Pertussis

Whooping cough: vaccination in pregnancy programme resources

Leaflets and posters

Posters are available free to order:

Whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy: leaflet (available to order)

Whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy: poster

Health Publications (Posters and guides)

Department of Health and Social Care resources

Posters and social media assets

RSV vaccine poster and digital screens

Vaccinations in Pregnancy | Campaigns | Campaign Resource Centre

Funding

Pharmacy owners will be paid £9.58 for the administration of each RSV vaccination to each patient and each pertussis vaccination to each patient; this fee is funded from NHS vaccination budgets, not from the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework global sum.

The respective vaccines will be provided to the pharmacy owner free of charge, and therefore, no reimbursement of the cost of the vaccine is payable.

Claiming payment

NHS England will confirm the method by which pharmacy owners will submit data on service provisions.

Claims should be made by the 5th of the month following the activity, as is normal for pharmacy services.

Pharmacy owners must claim payment within one month of, and no later than three months from the claim period for the chargeable activity provided. Claims which relate to work completed more than three months after the claim period in question will not be paid and the pharmacy owner will not receive any payment for the administration of those vaccinations.

Payments to pharmacy owners will be made monthly as part of their normal payment schedule.

Claims will show on payment schedules under allocated local payment scheme code:

28: NHS RSV vaccination service; or

29: NHS pertussis vaccination service, as applicable.

If a pharmacy owner wishes to withdraw from provision of the service or following any variations to the service, the pharmacy owner can no longer meet the revised requirements of the service, they can withdraw serving written notice on the commissioner to that effect, with supporting reasons as to why they wish to withdraw or cannot meet the revised requirements.

To terminate the service, a pharmacy owner must provide 28 days’ written notice to the commissioner, unless otherwise agreed with the commissioner.

In the case of withdrawal due to a service variation such notice, must be received by the commissioner no later than 42 days after publication of the relevant variation.

The commissioner must be provided with the written notice of withdrawal no fewer than 42 days before the pharmacy owner intends to stop provision of the service.

RSV and Pertussis Vaccination Service – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page

Anaphylaxis action card

Anaphylactic guidelines and algorithm poster (Resuscitation Council UK) (May 2021)

Pharmacy owner implementation checklist for the NHS RSV Vaccination and Pertussis Vaccination Service

Pharmacy professional implementation checklist for the NHS RSV and Pertussis Vaccination Service

Briefing 007/25: Briefing for pharmacy teams – the RSV and Pertussis Vaccination Service

General practice letter / email service notification template (Microsoft Word) 

Briefing for general practice teams

Record a Vaccination record form (Microsoft Word) – For business continuity use only

Online information sources for patients

Promotion to the public checklist

Health Publications Order point

Promotional Material

Suggested social media or text messages

RSV vaccine poster and digital screens

Maternal vaccinations (RSV, pertussis and flu) campaign material – Campaign Resource Centre

RSV older adult vaccination flyer

RSV & Pertussis pregnant vaccination flyer

At Community Pharmacy England, we are always keen to hear from pharmacy owners and their teams about how the provision of national pharmacy services is going, be that niggles with the way services are commissioned, a success story you want to share or something else. 

Please click on the link below to share a success story where you have helped achieve a good outcome for a patient following a consultation for a national pharmacy service or to provide feedback on one of the services. 

Provide feedback on national pharmacy services