The NHS on Friday (Jan 15), published a 'toolkit' for pharmacy staff to assist and support cross-sector the implementation of the Discharge Medicines Service as an essential service in all NHS community pharmacies in England.
It sets out the shared responsibilities and roles of pharmacy teams in community pharmacy, NHS Trusts and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in ensuring patient safety, better patient outcomes and medicines reconciliation on discharge.
“In preparation for the DMS becoming a new Essential service within the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) from February 15, 2021, contractors should review their staff training and competence to ensure relevant staff, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, who will be involved in providing the service, have the necessary knowledge and competence to undertake it safely,” the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has said in an update.
In addition, contractors are reminded that they must also have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the service, which all staff participating in provision of the service must be familiar with and follow.
To assist contractors with preparation, PSNC has published a checklist that contractors may use to guide them through some of the required actions.
