Advanced Services
Community pharmacies can choose to provide any of these services as long as they meet the requirements set out in the Secretary of State Directions.
| NHS Advanced Services | New Medicines Service (NMS) | Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) | Hypertension Case finding service | Smoking Cessation Service |
| Full information | Click here for full NMS information | Click here for full CPCS information | Click here for full HCFS information | Click here for full SCS information |
| Pharmacies signed up | – | Click here for list of pharmacies signed up to CPCS | Click here for list of pharmacies signed up to the HCFS | Click here for list of pharmacies signed up to the SCS |
| Service specification | Click here for the NMS service spec | Click here for the CPCS service spec | Click here for the HCFS service spec | Click here for the SCS service spec |
| Training requirements | Pharmacists that will provide the service must have the necessary knowledge and skills to do so, with them assessing and declaring their competence by completing the NHS self-assessment form | Pharmacists providing the CPCS should read the service specification and the CPCS Toolkit to be clear on what is expected of them and how the CPCS should be provided.
The necessary knowledge and skills required are a core competency for all pharmacists. |
To provide the service, pharmacists must:
|
To provide the service pharmacists must have:
|
| Equipment required | N/A | N/A | Contractors will need to purchase or rent equipment for each of the two stages of the service – Clinic blood pressure check and 24-hour ABPM – unless they already have equipment which meets the required standards.
Equipment that is to be used in the service must be validated by the British and Irish Hypertension Society (BIHS), so contractors must use a ‘normal’ BP meter and an ABPM which are included on one of the two following BIHS lists: |
To provide the service, contractors must have a carbon monoxide (CO) monitor (which is suitable for use with pregnant women) and sufficient disposable single patient use mouthpieces to meet the likely demand when providing the service via face-to-face consultations in the pharmacy. The minimum technical specification for a CO monitor that can be used for the service can be found in Appendix A of the service specification |
| SOP | Contractors must have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place for the service. A template SOP can be downloaded from the NPA website | Pharmacy contractors providing the CPCS must have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place for the service. A template SOP has been written by members of the Urgent Care Delivery and Implementation Group. Contractors can amend and adopt this SOP for use in their pharmacy if they wish. | Contractors must have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the service, which all staff participating in provision of the service must be familiar with and follow. SOPs must include the process for maintenance and validation of the equipment used.
Various pharmacy support organisations provide template SOPs which their members can personalise for use in their pharmacy. |
Contractors must have a standard operating procedure (SOP) in place for this service covering provision of the service, which should include key contact details for the service; the process for maintenance and validation of the equipment used and infection prevention and control measures; and signposting to locally commissioned smoking cessation services. The SOP should be reviewed regularly and following any significant incident or change to the service. All pharmacy staff involved in the provision of the service must be familiar with and adhere to the SOP.
Various pharmacy support organisations provide template SOPs which their members can personalise for use in their pharmacy. |
Advanced services: changes to consent and other rules
September 1, 2020
Other changes to service requirements
NMS
In a similar change, all NMS consultations can now be undertaken by telephone or video consultation, where the patient has previously consented to this and it is clinically appropriate; previously phone consultations were allowed for the intervention and follow-up stages of the service.
It is also now possible for a pharmacist providing the NMS to do so by telephone or video consultation, where the pharmacist is not located at the pharmacy, e.g. a pharmacist who is working from home, because they are shielding from COVID-19.
In all circumstances where, with the patient’s prior consent, telephone or video consultations are used to provide parts of the NMS, the pharmacist must undertake the consultation in an environment where the conversation cannot be overheard by others (except by someone whom the patient wants to hear the conversation, for example a carer).
AURs
Finally, where clinically appropriate and with the agreement of the patient, AURs may now be provided by telephone or video consultation, in circumstances where the conversation cannot be overheard by others (except by someone whom the patient wants to hear the conversation, for example a carer).
All of these changes are intended to support contractors to provide services in a COVID-safe manner, as the pandemic continues to take its course.
These changes are set out in amendments to the Pharmaceutical Services (Advanced and Enhanced Services) (England) Directions 2013 which can be viewed on the NHS Business Services Authority website.
