CNTW Flu Service - Frequently Asked Questions

Q1       My parents are over 65 but live in Gateshead and I work in Newcastle – can I vaccinate them?

Yes, the NHS service can be provided to any patient in a qualifying group who is registered with a GP practice within the geographical boundary of the NHS England area team, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear. Tyne & Wear includes North Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

It is the GP practice location which is crucial. For example, if a patient lives in County Durham but their GP practice is a member of Sunderland CCG, that patient can be vaccinated.

Q2       We’ve been trained to administer Novartis flu vaccines but can administer any vaccine under the NHS PGD. Do you keep the air bubble in all vaccines?

Yes, all pre-filled vaccines include an air bubble and this helps the administration process. Do not try to remove the air bubble before administration of the vaccine.

Q3       Which evaluation form do I use?

Please use the LPC provided evaluation form for all patients, whether NHS or private patients. This form matches the data required on PharmOutcomes, so you’ll have all the necessary information when transferring the information.

The evaluation is essential to provide the LPCs with robust data about the success of the service and patient acceptability of the service. The more data we have, the better, so please ask both NHS and private patients to complete the evaluation. This will also keep the patient in the pharmacy for a few minutes after their vaccination, so you can be assured that they are not going to have an anaphylactic reaction to the vaccine.

Q4       Which consent form do I use?

If you are providing an NHS vaccine, you must use the NHS consent form (Flu Consultation Form –FCF) which can be found on the resources page of the Northern Pharmacy website (http://www.northernpharmacy.net/nt-gst-s-resources.html) or can be downloaded by clicking the link on the NHS flu service template on PharmOutcomes.

If you are providing a private vaccination, please use the consent form provided by your private service provider. This may be your employer, e.g. Boots, Lloyds, Asda, Tesco, etc. or may be Novartis if you completed the LPC commissioned service training.

Q5       Do I have to transfer the information from the paper forms to PharmOutcomes?

Yes. If you have provided an NHS vaccination, transferring the information from the FCF to PharmOutcomes will provide the LPCs with service data and is also necessary to generate your invoice to the NHS England area for payment.

If you have provided a private vaccination, transferring the information from the consent form to PharmOutcomes will provide the LPCs with more service data which will support our negotiations with the area team regarding pharmacy vaccination services, although it will not trigger any payment as this will have been charged to the patient.

Q6       Having reviewed the private PGD, NHS PGD and SLA, can you clarify who we can vaccinate? Can we vaccinate pregnant women and children aged 17 and under?

You need to remember you are providing two separate services. The NHS service allows you to vaccinate those aged 65 years and over, those in a clinical risk group aged 18 to 65 and pregnant women at any stage of their pregnancy. Children aged 17 and under are excluded from the NHS service this year, as they should be vaccinated using the new live nasal vaccine. As pharmacists have not been trained to administer this vaccine, children should be referred to their GP practice for vaccination.

The Novartis private PGD allows the vaccination of children aged 2 and over. If a parent presents their children for vaccination aged 2 to 17, who are not in a clinical risk group and therefore not entitled to an NHS vaccination, these children can be vaccinated at the parent’s expense using the Novartis private PGD. Children aged 2 to 11 can only be vaccinated by an experienced pharmacist, defined by Novartis as having administered a minimum of 20 vaccines prior to vaccinating a younger child.

Those pharmacies using any other private PGD, e.g. Boots, Lloyds, etc.need to check the inclusion criteria of the PGD being used to determine whether this age group can be vaccinated under the terms of that PGD.

Q7       Do we need to complete a summary of vaccinations, including GP practice codes?

No, PharmOutcomes will record the patient’s GP practice, so this data will be available via PharmOutcomes.

Q8       Do we need to generate an invoice and where do we send it for payment?

No, PharmOutcomes will automatically generate an invoice on a monthly basis and email this to the NHS England area team. They will authorise payment and forward the invoices to Wakefield for payment.

In order to receive payment, you must have returned your completed signature page from the SLA to Linda Bosher at the area team. This is your contract with the NHS and without a completed, signed contract, the area team will be unable to pay your invoice. Signature pages should be emailed to [email protected] You can photograph the page and send the photo by email if you do not have access to a scanner.

Q9       How do we inform the patient’s GP practice that we have vaccinated one of their patients?

Following vaccination, attach the vaccine labels to the FCF. Having ensured all the information is complete on the FCF, fax this to the GP practice or copy it and send the copies to the practice.

You must notify the practice within 24 hours of administration (Monday to Friday), as per the SLA which states:

"The client’s GP should be informed that immunisation has taken place as soon as possible, either immediately by fax or in a manner agreed locally, which must always provide a daily update of immunisations to each GP surgery (on weekdays) "

The bottom of the FCF includes tick boxes for you as a reminder of each stage you need to complete, e.g. GP inform, PharmOutcomes completed, etc.

Q10    Can I vaccinate a patient taking warfarin?

Yes, provided the INR is under 4.

Patients prescribed warfarin should not be confused with patients who have a bleeding disorder, such as haemophilia, who are excluded by the NHS PGD.

Q11    When should I enter data onto PharmOutcomes?

Completed vaccinations should be entered before the close of business each day. PharmOutcomes provides live data and the commissioners may log in at any time to check the uptake through pharmacies.

Patient evaluation surveys should be entered at least on a weekly basis, so the LPCs can monitor patient feedback. This information is then used at the end of the service in the service evaluation report.