Key Summary
- Pharmacies must move from PSTN to VoIP by January 2027
- Change affects phones, alarms, payments, fax, medical devices, and patient telecare alarms
- Pharmacies should upgrade systems, raise awareness, and warn patients about scams
The government has told all the pharmacies to migrate their telephone systems to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as the current Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) will be decommissioned by January 2027.
The telecommunications industry claims it has decided to upgrade to VoIP, as the PSTN network is increasingly unreliable and prone to failure.
In a letter to the sector, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Health and Social Care has outlined various measures the pharmacy owners should take to avoid disruption to essential services.
The letters urges pharmacies to check whether they are using PSTN for other systems such as fire and lift alarms, payment services, fax machines, some medical devices, or other such uses.
They should either upgrade or terminate a service where it is no longer needed.
This change will also impact patients, including those who use telecare alarms.
They will have to get in touch with their telecom service provider to ensure that the alarms are compatible with the new digital (VoIP) systems.
The government wants pharmacy teams to raise awareness among patients and carers, especially those who may be vulnerable or unaware of the change.
Pharmacies should also be alert to scam risks during this transition and encourage patients to seek help from trusted sources.
