Another extension for pandemic delivery service

Home delivery of medicines and medical appliances has been extended further for clinically extremely vulnerable patients living in England.

In a letter published on Feb 19, Lisa Simpson, deputy director of community pharmacy strategy and contracts, has written to contractors that the service will be commissioned until end of March for all CEV patients living in England.

This follows an announcement made by Department of Health and Social Care earlier that up to 1.7m more individuals have been identified as CEV and would be added to the 'shielded patient' list and that the government's shielding advice and support was being extended nationally until March 31.

This means community pharmacies in England will be required to ensure that 'shielded patients' across the country are able to receive their prescription medicines and appliances by home delivery until March 31, if they are unable to arrange for medicines to be picked up.

However, where possible a friend, relative, carer or volunteer should be asked to collect medicines.

Pharmacies making a delivery to a patient in line with the service specification for the advanced service for community pharmacy can claim a fee for delivery during the period for which the service is commissioned.

Only patients on the government’s shielded patient list are eligible for this service and therefore appropriate checks should be made on the Summary Care Record to ensure that the patient is eligible for this service, the letter said.

Pharmacies should familiarise themselves with the details of the service before making a claim and evidence of delivery to shielding patients should be retained for post-payment

verification purposes, it added.