Advertising of the flu vaccination service
The early agreement to commission the flu vaccination service from community pharmacies provides you with the ideal opportunity to let your patients know that you will be offering this service. Now is the time to start raising awareness. Have you thought about the following:
The marketing section of the flu website www.northernpharmacy.net has been reopened. It currently has last year’s marketing materials available for you to use.
The LPCs are currently investigating new materials and when these are available, this section of the website will be updated.
The LPCs are also investigating radio advertising to support your flu vaccination service this year. Once patients are in the pharmacy, it’s up to you and your team to raise the subject of vaccination with them but radio advertising will help to increase the footfall through your door. Not all patients necessarily know that pharmacies offer flu vaccination services.
It is essential that we see a significant increase in the number of patients in clinical risk groups and pregnant women being vaccinated this year. The level of update has increased only slightly over the last two years and we’re still well short of achieving the target of 75% coverage.
Training
You can use any training provider to equip you with the necessary skills and competence to undertake the NHS flu vaccination service. Some service providers will also provide you with a private PGD which will allow you to vaccinate at a cost, any person who wants a flu vaccination.
For those who want to access the LPC commissioned training provided by Novartis Vaccines, please check the flu website www.northernpharmacy.net to check the training criteria. In summary,
You require live training if this is your first year of providing the service.
You require live training if you trained for the first time last year and administered less than 50 vaccinations.
You require online only training if you trained for the first time last year and administered 50 or more vaccinations.
You require online only training if you have completed two consecutive years of live training (number of vaccinations is irrelevant).
The first live training session is this Sunday, 27th July commencing 9am for a 9.30 start at the Holiday Inn, Seaton Burn. The training lasts 3.5 hours. There are currently two places left. The remaining live training sessions are Monday 11th August at the Quality Hotel, Boldon and Tuesday 19th August at the Holiday Inn, Seaton Burn. Both commence at 6pm for a 6.30 start.
The LPCs are pleased to be able to offer the training at the same price as last year, £27.50 for online only and £75 for live training.
Stock
If you are using the Novartis training, you can set up a direct account with them for supply of vaccines. On booking your training place, the confirmation email will include two forms, one for setting up an account with Novartis Vaccines and one to place your first order for a minimum of 20 vaccines. This stock is priced at £5 per vaccine and is ring fenced stock for pharmacy. Following your initial order, you can order stock in multiples of 10 vaccines. Orders placed by noon will be delivered the following day.
The NHS PGD will allow for the use of any flu vaccine. If you are also providing a private vaccination service, you need to check the PGD to identify if a specific manufacturer’s vaccine must be supplied as part of the service.
NHS documentation
The SLA and PGD will be uploaded to the flu website www.northernpharmacy.net as soon as the documents are available in their final format. You will need to print and sign both documents, retaining the PGD in the pharmacy and sending a copy of the SLA to the NHS England area team. Contact details will be provided.
PharmOutcomes
Training and vaccination details will again be captured on PharmOutcomes. You will be notified when the services are available. On completion of your training details on PharmOutcomes, you will then be accredited to provide the vaccination service and this service will then be available for you to record the vaccinations you have completed. This will provide an audit trail, service data and invoicing for the service. The service will not be available to you until you complete your training and include the details on the PharmOutcomes module.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us
The early agreement to commission the flu vaccination service from community pharmacies provides you with the ideal opportunity to let your patients know that you will be offering this service. Now is the time to start raising awareness. Have you thought about the following:
- Put stickers or leaflets on prescription bags awaiting collection advertising your flu service. Stickers are available from the NPA. When handing out prescription medicines, this provides an opportunity to start a discussion with patients about their vaccination needs.
- Have a list of medication which patients in clinical at risk target groups may be taking next to your dispensary computer, so your staff generating dispensing labels know to target the prescription with a sticker / leaflet.
- Use your PMR to search for patients in clinical risk groups and send them a letter inviting them to the pharmacy for their flu vaccination. This could be posted or get your delivery driver to drop letters through their door. A personal invitation can have a significant impact.
The marketing section of the flu website www.northernpharmacy.net has been reopened. It currently has last year’s marketing materials available for you to use.
The LPCs are currently investigating new materials and when these are available, this section of the website will be updated.
The LPCs are also investigating radio advertising to support your flu vaccination service this year. Once patients are in the pharmacy, it’s up to you and your team to raise the subject of vaccination with them but radio advertising will help to increase the footfall through your door. Not all patients necessarily know that pharmacies offer flu vaccination services.
It is essential that we see a significant increase in the number of patients in clinical risk groups and pregnant women being vaccinated this year. The level of update has increased only slightly over the last two years and we’re still well short of achieving the target of 75% coverage.
Training
You can use any training provider to equip you with the necessary skills and competence to undertake the NHS flu vaccination service. Some service providers will also provide you with a private PGD which will allow you to vaccinate at a cost, any person who wants a flu vaccination.
For those who want to access the LPC commissioned training provided by Novartis Vaccines, please check the flu website www.northernpharmacy.net to check the training criteria. In summary,
You require live training if this is your first year of providing the service.
You require live training if you trained for the first time last year and administered less than 50 vaccinations.
You require online only training if you trained for the first time last year and administered 50 or more vaccinations.
You require online only training if you have completed two consecutive years of live training (number of vaccinations is irrelevant).
The first live training session is this Sunday, 27th July commencing 9am for a 9.30 start at the Holiday Inn, Seaton Burn. The training lasts 3.5 hours. There are currently two places left. The remaining live training sessions are Monday 11th August at the Quality Hotel, Boldon and Tuesday 19th August at the Holiday Inn, Seaton Burn. Both commence at 6pm for a 6.30 start.
The LPCs are pleased to be able to offer the training at the same price as last year, £27.50 for online only and £75 for live training.
Stock
If you are using the Novartis training, you can set up a direct account with them for supply of vaccines. On booking your training place, the confirmation email will include two forms, one for setting up an account with Novartis Vaccines and one to place your first order for a minimum of 20 vaccines. This stock is priced at £5 per vaccine and is ring fenced stock for pharmacy. Following your initial order, you can order stock in multiples of 10 vaccines. Orders placed by noon will be delivered the following day.
The NHS PGD will allow for the use of any flu vaccine. If you are also providing a private vaccination service, you need to check the PGD to identify if a specific manufacturer’s vaccine must be supplied as part of the service.
NHS documentation
The SLA and PGD will be uploaded to the flu website www.northernpharmacy.net as soon as the documents are available in their final format. You will need to print and sign both documents, retaining the PGD in the pharmacy and sending a copy of the SLA to the NHS England area team. Contact details will be provided.
PharmOutcomes
Training and vaccination details will again be captured on PharmOutcomes. You will be notified when the services are available. On completion of your training details on PharmOutcomes, you will then be accredited to provide the vaccination service and this service will then be available for you to record the vaccinations you have completed. This will provide an audit trail, service data and invoicing for the service. The service will not be available to you until you complete your training and include the details on the PharmOutcomes module.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us
RSS Feed