Key Summary
- CPE urges NHS to compensate pharmacies for ineligible COVID-19 bookings
- Eligibility confusion caused wasted appointments and staff abuse
- Clearer communication and checks needed to protect services
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has come out in support of pharmacy owners, following the confusion over the Covid vaccination eligibility issue.
CPE has formally written to NHS seeking financial compensation for the pharmacy owners.
The confusion was caused by the significant changes to COVID-19 vaccination eligibility criteria this winter.
As per the recent revision, patients aged 75 years and above, along with young patients with poor immunity are eligible for free jabs.
Last year, patients aged 65 years and above were eligible.
A large number of last year’s eligible patients turned up for free jab after booking via the National Booking System (NBS).
Many pharmacies witnessed chaotic situation and some team members even had to face abuse and violence from upset patients.
Pharmacy owners reported that a third to half of patients booked via NBS were not eligible for vaccination.
Lack of timely update on the change in eligibility criteria by the NHS led to this unpleasant situation.
CPE said it holds NHS accountable to resolve the administrative burden, financial costs, impact on teams and damage to relations with the public faced by the pharmacy owners.
It wants NHS England to pay pharmacies for NBS-booked vaccine appointments where patients were later found ineligible.
“How many times must we ask the NHS to help community pharmacies to operationalise this service, only for yet more barriers to be put in their way?,” asks Janet Morrison, chief executive at Community Pharmacy England.
“We are deeply concerned, but not surprised, to hear that some pharmacy owners will consider not providing this vital service in the future.”
“As a sector already in financial crisis, pharmacies can little afford to waste time, effort and money, on appointments which have been booked by patients, but which then cannot be undertaken as expected.”
She concluded saying, ”And this is why we have sought compensation for pharmacy owners from the NHS: pharmacies cannot continue to pay the price for problems that are entirely of someone else’s making.”
The CPE’s letter, however, does not just confine to a compensation demand.
Concerns like financial, administrative, and emotional strain when ineligible patients book COVID-19 appointments, causing wasted time, disrupted services, and reduced trust are addressed in it.
Similarly, the issue’s potential to lower vaccination uptake, including for flu shots, and create risks with leftover vaccine stock are discussed as well.
It also urges NHS to maintain clearer communication and better eligibility checks to function smoothly in the future.
So far, NHS has amended the NBS wordings on eligibility while issuing a message for affected patients.
They have also published NHS-branded communication materials and are conveying messages via their Primary Care Bulletin to explain the eligibility criteria better.
Yet, both the public and Community Pharmacy are awaiting NHS’s response on the question of compensation.
