Community Pharmacy Scotland has been made aware of confusion around some of the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service (PFS) Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Patient Group Direction (PGD) details. We thought it would be useful to clarify these points.

We are delighted to hear the recent joint consultation led by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department of Health Northern Ireland (DHNI), has been approved. This will enable pharmacy technicians to supply and administer medicines using Patient Group Directions (PGDs) once the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 have been amended.

This Circular advises Health Boards and community pharmacy contractors of updated Patient Group Directions (PGDs) that are to be implemented for the treatment of shingles and skin infections under NHS Pharmacy First Scotland.

There are currently review dates on some of the NHS PGDs in your NHS Boards. Please note that review dates are not expiry dates on the PGD; they are a note of the time window from which the review will take place.

As part of our work with the Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Programme to move to paperless prescriptions, we urgently need your help!

As some of you may be aware, NHS England are due to launch the NHS Pharmacy First service in English community pharmacies on 31st of January 2024.

Patient Group Directions (PGDs) that are to be added to the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever).

This Circular advises Health Boards and community pharmacy contractors of updated Patient Group Directions (PGDs) that are to be implemented for the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTI) and impetigo under NHS Pharmacy First Scotland.

As part of a move to a regional formulary review process in the East of Scotland, both NHS Lothian and NHS Borders will very shortly inform contractors that the dose of Flucloxacillin permitted

We work closely with our colleagues at NHS24 to do everything we can to support the use of the unscheduled care PGD, so that the vast majority of patients have uninterrupted access to their medication.

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.