Annual Report
Martin Green: Chair
I am very grateful to my colleagues for re-electing me as Chairman of Community Pharmacy Scotland in May 2022 and I will undertake this role you have entrusted me with the same enthusiasm and commitment of my previous terms. Last year was the final year of our three-year deal which thankfully CPS had negotiated with our Scottish Government colleagues in February 2020. That ensured cash flow remained at a level that allowed pharmacy owners to operate their pharmacies despite the very challenging conditions we were presented with. I would like to thank all the community pharmacy teams across Scotland for caring for all our patients in, at times, difficult circumstances.
Harry McQuillan: Chief Executive Officer
During 2021/22 the CPS team and Scottish Government (SG) colleagues stayed in constant contact with each other planning how best to ensure our services kept being delivered to our patients. This included the ongoing expansion of the NHS Pharmacy First service which has now delivered over 3 million interventions to the people of Scotland. We also closely collaborated on the design and delivery of a programme of independent prescribing training opportunities, specifically for community pharmacists. This very much helps ensure we make our shared goal of having an independent prescriber in every community pharmacy in Scotland a reality.
Looking to the future, CPS and SG in April 2022 jointly produced a five-year road map of potential community pharmacy developments, that should conditions allow, would see Scotland lead the way regarding services that would be available to our citizens. We are also grateful for the continued joint working to secure PPE for our pharmacy teams during 2021/22.
Last year saw the successful trial, involving 280 pharmacies, that demonstrated community pharmacy could manage hypertension digitally. This involved the use of a digital platform, smartphone app, bluetooth enabled blood pressure monitors and willing participants! CPS believes this type of development is essential for the future of pharmacy services and is working on securing additional funding to continue digital advancement. CPS has also supported, during the last twelve months, the SG Digital Prescribing and Digital Dispensing programme, with team members inputting to workshops and helping design effective outcomes for our network.
May 2022 saw CPS deliver its second online election process and as Returning Officer, I am pleased to report that it went without a hitch. This streamlined approach allows scrutiny of the election process whilst still allowing our Executive team to continue to deliver on behalf of the network during voting. I'm pleased to say that many of our Community Pharmacy Health Board Committees had to hold elections for places and this shows a healthy interest in becoming involved. The CPS Board also welcomed four new members in May and already they are making their presence felt by bring fresh and new ideas to the table. The Board going forward has a great balance of youth and experience that will aid succession planning for the next election in 2025!
My main highlights for my colleagues to reflect on over the last twelve months are:
Delivery of NHS Pharmacy First
Successful recruitment of Community Independent Prescriber trainees
Continuity of the supply of medicines to the people of Scotland whilst still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Matt Barclay: Director of Operations
This year the CPS Team has developed and grown, with new expertise being recruited. This has aided us to meet the needs of our members. The Services Team also did a good job delivering our elections which led to our new Council and Board in May 2022.
The CPS Team has continued to deliver a high-quality service both in person and in Queen Street, through a hybrid way of working. In-person full team meetings take place on a regular basis as well as Board meetings. Queen Street provides the team with a hub for maintaining relationships and essential work on behalf of members which requires team members to work together.
My main highlights for my colleagues to reflect on over the last twelve months are:
The network delivering LFT kits to the public and demonstrating their role crucial part in the pandemic response yet again
The board sign off on a strategic Business Plan to support the internal team to focus on what is important for members
Supporting the team in the Digital Prescribing and Digital Dispensing work with Board direction
Recruitment of Public Affairs and Data Analyst individuals to the Team
Roll out of Bridging Contraception Service as part of the Sexual Health Public Health element of the contract
Continuing to support Independent Prescribing strategy within Community Pharmacy
Data would suggest more care than ever is being provided through Pharmacy First and the public value the service
More pharmacies embedding it into practice as more individuals gain the qualification.
Networks of pharmacy prescribers have also developed to support and share best practice
Michael Oswald: HSCP Support Officer
Some of the main highlights from the previous year include:
Continued supporting the development of hospital discharge service, increased use of serial prescriptions, and development of pharmacy services including covid antiviral supply
Supported ongoing programme delivering new payment system for Practitioner and Counter Fraud Services
Involved in collaborative work on digital prescribing and dispensing pathways
Supported work to secure additional covid funding for network
Involved in continuing discussions on local health board flu services and community pharmacy involvement
Involved in continued development and exploration of digital services and where these can complement pharmacy practice
Implemented actions from CPS governance review to ensure appropriate representation for contractors with Board and Council members
Supported new internal ways of working and ‘hub’ working from our Queen Street office
Amanda Rae & Adam Osprey: Policy & Development
This year saw many developments for the policy team at CPS; from well and truly bursting through the 3 million consultation mark, NHS Pharmacy First Scotland went from strength to strength in its second year of operation. Joint working was a key theme this year, with previous local work with optometry practices formalised nationally into a 2-way referral and supply pathway. With the support of colleagues in SG and NHS Boards, we were able to carry out several reviews of the approved list of products based on your feedback. We have also refined this process as we go, meaning fewer planned reviews are required and urgent changes are pushed through much quicker than has been possible to date. Thanks to a fully-funded Independent Prescribing course scheme, we have also seen two new cohorts of community pharmacists start delivering NHS Pharmacy First Plus - with the total now exceeding 140 in Scotland.
This year, we got back to carrying out MSP engagement face-to-face, which has been fantastic. Only by taking people out to pharmacies can they really get a sense of the contribution that the network's teams make to their communities, and in particular the struggle and sacrifice that has been required to keep all services running through and beyond the pandemic. Through this year, we have had great visits with two ministers:
Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport
Angela Constance MSP, who is the current Minister for Drugs policy.
We have specifically targeted MSPs who sit on the parliament's Health, Social Care and Sport committee this year - this is a group that scrutinises the Government's actions on these topics, so it is crucial that they have an understanding of community pharmacy's place in delivering for Scotland. This year, we managed to engage with:
Carol Mochan MSP
Clare Adamson MSP
Sandesh Gulhane MSP
Sharon Dowey MSP
Willie Rennie MSP
Elena Whitham MSP
We spent most of our time with MSPs highlighting the journey through the pandemic, plans for the future of Pharmacy First and concerns over workforce issues.
Scotland is now on a journey towards completely electronic prescribing and dispensing. Emma, Michael and Adam are working as a team to make sure that community pharmacy's needs and views are well represented across the various programmes that are working to deliver a paperless end-to-end system. This year, we have spent a great deal of time in this space helping colleagues in NHS National Services Scotland understand the complexities of the current system, and have begun to look at what the future might hold through a series of facilitated workshops. Keep an eye out for opportunities to get involved with this work - we will need your help in the years to come!
this year we borught Kieran Foley into the business to focus on Public Relations which has had two main benefits. First and foremost, we gain additional capacity to support us in raising awareness of the community pharmacy network and its work. Secondly, we have someone who can spend the time building a robust strategy for engagement across all of the audiences that we would seek to influence on your behalf.
The last few years have been transformative for education in the world of pharmacy, and this year was no different. This year's intake to the MPharm degree will be the first to complete a 5-year degree, and in 2026 will simultaneously graduate - join the register and qualify as independent prescribers! To facilitate the journey to this different degree, our engagement with the two schools of pharmacy and NES this year has included discussions on how to further expand experiential learning programmes in the community. This year also saw the launch of the fully-funded Post-registration Foundation programme for community pharmacists, which includes a place on an IP course. Backfill is provided to support newly qualified pharmacists to grow in confidence and competence as they start out on their careers, also putting them on a fast-track to deliver NHS Pharmacy First Plus. This programme will continue with a September and February intake each year, so make sure you are talking to your Foundation Year Trainee Pharmacists about this opportunity now in preparation!
Consultations
Scottish Government: Data strategy for Health and Social Care
Scottish Government: Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy
Scottish Parliament: Joint committee evidence session on drugs deaths
GPhC: Draft equality guidance for pharmacies
GPhC: Changes to requirements for training as an independent prescriber
Emma Taylor: Head of Services
Some of the main highlights from the previous year include:
We hired the new Pharmacy Supervisor Lynn who joined the team in September 2021 and has successfully built new relationships with her team within the department and of course, the wider team both remotely and in person. Lynn has embraced the learnings and developments the role brings along with supporting and developing her team on their day-to-day deliveries for CPS and the network.
The continued work on the monthly pricing and quarterly proprietary enquires benefited the network and has allowed for the continual monitoring of the margin in the network. this has been supported by the CPS Exec and CPS Negotiating team with their ongoing monitoring and discussions with colleagues at Scottish Government.
The Data Analysts have been developing a data trending/visualisation platform which allows for an interactive tool for data to be reviewed that helps inform and negotiate. There have been numerous different data requests throughout the year monitoring the tariff, global sum and other ad hoc requests, all of which are being created in the above platform. Migrating data platforms and setting up pre-processing and automation of data to allow monthly pieces of work around the pharmacy transactions to be automated and allow time towards greater developments and deliveries in other areas.
The CPS online elections took place earlier this year and thanks to the support of Jenny and Amanda H the election processes went well. Thank you to all of our contractor owners for their engagement and involvement. We very much look forward to working with all the CPHB’s, Council members and Board Member over the next 3 years.
In terms of services, between August 2021 and July 2022 what are some other projects you have worked on?'
Monthly pricing enquiries
AMS Digital Payments
DPDP
nDCVP
Lynn Blacklaw: Services Supervisor
The services team continue to answer queries from contractors and their teams on a broad spectrum of pharmacy practice issues and our contractors get in touch with us via the pharmacy services email inbox, the FAQ application on our website, Twitter and Facebook but mostly by calling the team on 0131 466 3540.
The most common questions relate to:
Shortages and adjusted prices for Drug Tariff (DT) Part 7 items Tariff (DT) Part 7 items
Electronic endorsing requirements
Procedures for unlicensed or imported medicines not listed in DT Part 7S
Disallowed Items
Courier Collections
Payments in regard to the Financial Framework
Claiming via the Universal Claim Framework (UCF)
Other highlights include:
Getting to Know the team/my team. Being part of an Organisation/Team that works so hard for the Contractor/Member.
Now that the Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme has migrated fully online it has made the process so quick and easy for us and the Pharmacists using the service.
Updating the PVG homepage to make it more user-friendly.
NES Workforce Survey.
C&S Election.
Updating SOP for service delivery and processes.
Upskilling the Liaison Officers on responsibilities and processes
Financial Framework 2022
In 2022, we continued our work to develop our financial framework, which explains in fine detail how pharmacies are funded. We’d had feedback that it wasn’t that easy to understand so we continued with our overhauled approach, simplifying the language and using some helpful analogies. You can access the new publication on our website here, and like in previous years we’d love to hear what you think.
Our Events
Throughout each year, we host events in line with our strategic plan – whether this is to support our members and local committees to be the best they can be, raise the profile of the work that community pharmacy teams do, or influence others.
This year saw COVID restrictions removed CPS-hosted in-person meetings for the first time since 2019. The CPS Charity Golf Day was held on 17th June 2022 after a two-year postponement due to the pandemic. Although the weather didn't cooperate, all those who participated had a great day and lots of fun.
We held our first face-to-face Council meeting in May 2022 at Crieff Hydro with a great turnout. This was the first Council meeting for some new members along with a presentation from Alison Strath, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Scottish Government. The CPS Board also returned to face-to-face meetings with virtual attendance an option for those unable to travel to Edinburgh.
We did also host a series of well-received virtual events such as a AMA to promote and educate the network on several topics including NHS Pharmacy First Scotland Service and Unscheduled Care.
Other virtual events include:
2 CPS Council Meetings Chairs and Secretaries’ days
Local AGM Support
NHS Pharmacy First Scotland - Ask Me Anything hosted on Facebook & Twitter, YouTube, Instagram x 2
Public Affairs
Traditionally, community pharmacy has not been the best sector for shouting out about its achievements and this is something that we in the P&D Team have again been working on this past year.
NHS Pharmacy First Scotland continued to make milestones by reaching 3 million consultations with more than 90% of those being dealt with at the point of contact by a member of the pharmacy team. Community pharmacies continue their efforts in the fight on the frontline against the coronavirus pandemic, but as restrictions have loosened we have begun doing MSP visits to discuss and highlight the key part community pharmacy has played throughout the pandemic and its place at the heart of NHS recovery plan going forward.
Kieran Foley: Policy & Public Relations Officer
My time at CPS has been filled with learning and development. I have been researching pharmacy policy, pharmacy services, and CPS's central place in pharmacy. I attended the pharmacy awards which gave me a superb opportunity to get my face out there and meet key people in the pharmacy sector. I have attended both virtual and in-person meetings with various groups such as:
RPS
PCCPG
CPHB Chairs & Secretaries Group
Attending these meetings has allowed me to gain an understanding of the relationship CPS has with each group and their function as group. I have also played a role in setting up MSP's pharmacy visits. Predominately coordinating with the MSP & their team but I have increasingly start to contact pharmacy teams also and I have been given more responsibility in my role. I have also began to write pro pharmacy documents as my knowledge has grown. A large portion of my role at the beginning of my time at CPS was learning to and completing consultation responses on behalf of CPS on related government legislation.
Web Development
The focuses of this year were "user journey" and adding "additional value to our members" through:
An improved navigation system
Upgraded apps including part 7, adjusted prices, and vacancies
Improved SEO allowing our members to see our content before others
Focus on video with the introduction of weekly updates
An intuitive user experience
A more powerful and accurate search function
More focus on the latest news items and campaigns
Updated content, written in a user-friendly way
Jenny O’Donnell - Governance Officer
Office Hub Set Up
With lockdown easing allowing people to go back into previously closed workplaces we looked at ways to offer a safe place to work within the guidelines. Over the course of the year more of our team are now able to work from the office at one time if they choose to and face-to-face meetings for the Board restarted in March. New Insurance Company Kinnell Corporate which provided both pharmacy cover through CPS Insurance Services and some of our office policies stopped providing that service and administration was taken over by Greenwood Moreland Insurance Brokers. Matt Barclay and I had an introductory meeting with them in September and the Board agreed we should continue with them to be reviewed at a later date.