PCA(P)(2021)07 - Additional PGDs
Published: 24/05/21
Circular PCA(P)(2021)07 advises that Patient Group Directions (PGDs) supporting two further common clinical conditions will be added to the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service.
Background
NHS Circular PCA (P)(2020) 13, issued on 1 July 2020, enclosed Directions for the Health Board Additional Pharmaceutical Services (NHS Pharmacy First Scotland) Directions 2020 which came into force as of 29 July 2020.
Two common clinical conditions, supported by PGDs, are currently included in the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service: uncomplicated UTIs and impetigo.
Detail
From 15 June 2021, PGDs supporting two further common clinical conditions will be added as part of the national service to facilitate consultations for advice and treatment of shingles and skin infections.
Some Health Boards already have those conditions included in local pharmacy services, however, the expectation is that the national NHS Pharmacy First Scotland arrangements will replace those local services.
Community pharmacy contractors and pharmacy teams should ensure they are familiar with the new arrangements as detailed below.
Patient Group Directions (PGDs)
Two PGDs have been developed nationally for NHS Pharmacy First Scotland to replace existing PGDs for aciclovir (for treatment of shingles) and flucloxacillin (for the treatment of skin infections).
Annex A of this circular provides copies of the draft PGDs which have been approved by NHS24 to allow pharmacists as much time as possible to familiarise themselves with the relevant details before launch on the 15th June. In the meantime, as local governance procedures must be followed even when a PGD is agreed nationally, Health Boards will each approve, sign and publish these PGDs through the appropriate channels. Individual authorisation forms will be published alongside these and should be completed by Pharmacists delivering NHS Pharmacy First Scotland and submitted to each Health Board area that they work in.
Where a Pharmacist Independent Prescriber is delivering an NHS service which would include consultations for shingles and/or skin infections (e.g. Pharmacy First Plus), they should not utilise the PGDs, instead using their qualification to prescribe as they ordinarily would under the agreed service specification.
