NCL Primary Care Survival Toolkit for Community Pharmacy
This information toolkit aims to support all members of the Community Pharmacy Teams working across North Central London. We hope that these resources will help support individuals and teams to cope with the systemic and seasonal pressures that they face. Although a lot of the resources are perhaps of benefit to pharmacists, and we acknowledge pharmacy professionals may well be the initial people to access the resources, we have attempted to include some resources which we hope will be helpful to the non-registered pharmacy workforce.
It is the intention that this document will be continuously updated, and we welcome your feedback on its contents, etc. If links do not work or if you are aware of resources that have not been included, please provide feedback to nclicb.nclth@nhs.net.
Local Pharmaceutical Committees (LPCs) provide support, representation, and advice to community pharmacies within each borough.
Camden & Islington LPC – Providing support, guidance and advice to community pharmacies within the London borough of Camden & Islington.
Barnet, Enfield & Haringey LPC - Providing support, guidance and advice to Community Pharmacies in 9 Middlesex borough areas including Barnet, Enfield & Haringey.
NCL ICB Community Pharmacy Lead
NCL ICB Community Pharmacy Lead: Kristina Petrou (kristina.petrou@nhs.net).
Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer
The Controlled Drugs regulations 2013 require that each NHS England region has a Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer.
Sarah Dennison is the Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer for NHS England – London.
It is the CD Accountable Officer’s responsibility to ensure the safe and effective use of controlled drugs within local organisations across NHS England - London.
In short, the Accountable Officer must ensure that:
a controlled drugs local intelligence network is in place
adequate destruction arrangements are in place for controlled drugs
the prescribing of controlled drugs is monitored and audited and good prescribing practice is promoted
request periodic declarations from GPs and providers of dental, nursing or midwifery services
manage direct reporting of incidents relating to primary care; arrangements are in place to inspect premises, which are not visited by other regulatory bodies e.g. CQC, GPhC
The Accountable Officer also has an obligation to record concerns regarding individual’s management of controlled drugs, to assess and investigate those concerns and to take appropriate action if those concerns are well founded.
ALL health care professionals have a statutory duty to report any incidents, errors or concerns, however minor, regarding the management of Controlled Drugs.
In the first instance you are advised to contact Sarah Dennison:
Telephone: 0203 978 3507
Community Pharmacy England – CPE is the national representative body for Community Pharmacy in England. It negotiates community pharmacy’s contract (the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework) with NHSE. CPE promotes and supports the interests of all NHS community pharmacies in England. Working closely with everyone in the community pharmacy sector, including the Local Pharmaceutical Committees (LPCs), to meet goals and to promote the value of community pharmacy.
Contact Community Pharmacy England:
Main: +44 20 3122 0810
Communications and Public Affairs Team (for press/media queries): comms.team@cpe.org.uk
Dispensing and Supply Team: ds.team@cpe.org.uk
Funding Team: funding.team@cpe.org.uk
Services Team: services.team@cpe.org.uk
Digital and Technology Lead: it@cpe.org.uk
Regulation and Support Team: regulations.team@cpe.org.uk
Contractor and LPC Support Team: lpc.support@cpe.org.uk
National Trade Associations
There are three national trade bodies each representing the three sectors in Community Pharmacy. AIMp (The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies represents independent pharmacy multiple groups; CCA (the Chemist Company Association) represent large pharmacy multiple groups; NPA (The National Pharmacy Association) represents independent community pharmacy groups and sole trading pharmacies. Nearly all pharmacies in the UL will be a member of one of these groups. These groups provide support for their members. Below are links to their websites:
See below for queries on Drug Tariff or NHSE payments contact CPE or NHS BS.
CPE contacts:
Dispensing and Supply Team ds.team@cpe.org.uk
Funding Team funding.team@cpe.org.uk
Services Team services.team@cpe.org.uk
Community Pharmacy England – Within this section you will find a summary of the national arrangements for NHS Smartcards, and information about how to administer them.
Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) Coaching service - The CPPE coaching service is available to General Pharmaceutical Council registrants working in the NHS in England. It is a non-chargeable service that assists pharmacy professionals in dealing with work-related issues, problems and barriers.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society Mentoring Service – A service for RPS members looking to develop their career. Find out more about finding a mentor or becoming a mentor yourself.
The Female Pharmacy Leaders Network – The network is made up of 500+ pharmacy professionals from across all sectors and all leadership levels. The network run virtual meetups discussing everything relating to female pharmacy professionals reaching leadership positions from allyship to career journeys, emotional intelligence, menopause and more. These meetups are safe spaces to share personal challenges and barriers and gain the support of an incredible group of pharmacy professionals who are here to help each other reach whatever leadership positions you aspire to. The group is not affiliated to any one organisation, sector or group. The group encourages collaboration, networking and supporting one another.
Please visit the NCL Training Hub staff wellbeing page for additional up to date resources and events: Health and Wellbeing
Pharmacist Support: Pharmacist Support is a charitable organisation which assists those who need confidential support. It provides a helpline called Listening Friends, advice on health-related problems and financial advice.
NHSE – Support for all NHS staff - Staff mental health and wellbeing initiatives that seeks to connect and support the health and social care workforce. They include a range of support including peer-to-peer support, return to work advice, coaching and talking therapy support.
Resilient Team Academy Membership - Subscribe to access core Shapes Toolkit training, bitesize videos and team building activities.
NCL Integrated Schwartz Rounds – A multidisciplinary forum designed for staff to come together once a month to discuss and reflect on the emotional and social challenges associated with working in health and social care.
NHSE» Handling difficult situations with compassion – The training aims to help upskill colleagues in handling difficult situations with compassion, using appropriate communication techniques and active listening skills, whilst focusing on keeping yourself well if you feel affected by a situation.
Wellbeing Conversation resources and templates - Resources to support health and wellbeing conversations intended to be regular, supportive, coaching-style one to one conversations that focus on the wellbeing of your team.
Good Thinking - Resources to help Londoners improve their mental wellbeing.
Peer Led Mindfulness - This is a peer-led initiative on Teams with 15-minute sessions on Tuesdays at 12:00 and a 30-minute session on Fridays at 10:00. No need to register, simply join via the Teams Link.
Evolveworkplacewellbeing.org - A comprehensive guide to exploring and embedding workplace wellbeing. Access the self-assessment guide, which draws on extensive research to dispel myths and shows what really makes a difference to workplace wellbeing.
General Pharmaceutical Council: Pharmacy owners/employers- Information and quick links around a range of topics, including registering a pharmacy premises, registering or renewing a trainee site, reporting concerns and more.
General Pharmaceutical Council: Standards – The GPC set standards for pharmacy professionals and registered pharmacies in Great Britain.
Pharmacist Support: Locum Pharmacy Overview - Locums are an important part of the pharmacy workforce. This page provides information about common enquiries made to Pharmacist Support regarding locum working.
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) - Calendar of training opportunities aimed to promote and educate about diversity awareness, speaking up, unconscious bias, active bystander, bullying & harassment, and Multi-professional Leadership Network. Contact kerree.ahern@nhs.net for more information.
Diversity Matters in NHS Primary Care - Campaign Pledge - One of the NCL Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) activities that aims to create a supportive and protective working environment for all healthcare professionals and patients with protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation) within the NCL Primary Care sector including general practice, dentistry, optometry, care home and community pharmacy.
Clinical Examination Skills Training for Community Pharmacists - A fully funded, free to access clinical examination skills training resource from the NHS, designed specifically for community pharmacists.
Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) - CPPE provide a wide range of CPD resources for registered pharmacy professionals.
The Pharmaceutical Journal - The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s official journal, providing research, articles, podcasts and more.
NCL Training Hub – News, events and training opportunities for the NCL primary care workforce
NCL Knowledge and Library Services – The team are available to help with all your knowledge and information needs. This can be anything from helping set up your NHS OpenAthens account to searching medical databases for high quality evidence to support.
NHSE e-Learning for healthcare -Range of national e-learning including mandatory training and over 100 training areas.
National Institute for Health Research Learning and Support - National repository of information to support health care professionals, researchers, patients and public.
Employed members of the pharmacy team may find the below resources helpful.
Pharmacist Support – Finances – A wide range of information and resources that may help you manage your finances and debt more effectively. You can find information about different types of funding for pharmacists, trainee pharmacists and pharmacy students.
Pharmacist Support – Grant Application Tool - This portal provides an easy and secure way for you to apply for financial assistance from Pharmacist Support. To access the portal, you must meet the eligibility criteria to apply for a Pharmacist Support grant.
NCL Training Hub Cost of living resources for Pharmacists - Up to date cost of living support for pharmacists.
Borough Specific Cost of Living resources - Latest resource packs developed by borough partnerships and Councils to support their residents.
Blue Light Card - Access to thousands of deals. Those eligible include, NHS staff, NHS dental teams, social care teams & more. Payment of £4.99 gives access to the deals for two years.
All Our Health: Financial wellbeing bite-sized course - An overview of financial wellbeing - including key evidence, data and signposting to trusted resources to help prevent illness, protect health and promote wellbeing.
Support via MoneyHelper Service - Free, independent support including tools and resources to manage finances.
Health Service Discounts – Exclusive discounts, cashback and vouchers for NHS and healthcare workers.
Money Saving Expert - Discounts and offers for NHS staff - Top deals available and how to access them.