MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE LIVERPOOL LOCAL PHARMACEUTICAL COMMITTEE HELD ON THURSDAY 27thAPRIL AT 60 HOPE STREET, LIVERPOOL, L1 9BZ
Attendance Statistics 2017/18
The table below shows the LPC members’ attendances at the nine committee meetings held between April 2017 and the end of March 2018.
Members / Apr / Jun / Jul / Sep / Oct / Nov / Jan / Mar / Individualattendance
P Brennan / 0 / 0/1
B Cremin / / 0/1
J Davey / / 1/1
L Davies / / 1/1
P Glenn / / 1/1
E Goodwin / / 1/1
D Jones / / 1/1
R Lightowler / / 1/1
K McCarthy / / 1/1
J Parker / / 1/1
P Quigley / / 1/1
D Sanchez / / 1/1
TOTAL / 10 / 5/6
Present: J Davey (JD), L Davies (LD), P Glenn (PG),E Goodwin (EG), D Jones (DJ), R Lightowler (RL) K McCarthy (KM), J Parker (JP), P Quigley (PQ) and D Sanchez(DS) 10
In Attendance:M Harvey (Chief Officer) (MH)
Election of Officers
MH took the chair for the annual election of Chair, Vice-Chair and Treasurer. MH reminded members that at the meeting on 2nd March, DS had been proposed as chair by PG, seconded by BC. KM was proposed as Vice-Chair by PG and seconded by JP. BC was proposed as treasurer by EG and seconded by KM. In the interim, no other members had expressed an interest and no further nominations were received at the meeting. JD asked whether the decision made at the meeting on the 2nd March to remove the requirement that one of the Chair or Vice-Chair need to be an independent member was wise. After a brief discussion, it was decided that that decision was indeed valid. JD went on to thank the committee for the support they have given him over the past year during his tenure as chairman. He stated that he was still prepared to play in active role as a member. With no further nominations, all proposed officers were elected unopposed.
M17/041 Welcome
The Chair was then taken by DS whose first act as chairman was to thank JD for the work he had done as chair; in particular, the work done on the pharmacy cuts campaign. Committee members echoed this. DS then welcomed all present, made the necessary fire and housekeeping announcements, and asked for any declarations of interest. DS then reminded members of the agreed policy (M12/87) on mobile phones, namely that “mobile phones are to be switched off for calls and texts during the course of LPC meetings”.
M17/042 Apologies for absence
Apologies had been received from: P Brennan and B Cremin
M17/043 Minutes of the last meeting
Copies of which had been previously circulatedwere agreed as being a true and proper record.
M17/044 Actions from March Minutes
The committee reviewed any outstanding action points from the previous meeting.
Pharmacies are still receiving scripts for branded generic “Rewisca” pregabalin despite the unlicensed nature and legal implications of doing this. The committee discussed the issues surrounding this, and ways the LPC could lobby this practice to be changed. The committee agreed to write to Peter Johnstone at the CCG to highlight this practice, despite it being against CCG advice.
Action MH: Ask Peter Johnstone to write to practices outlining that Rewisca should not be prescribed for neuropathic pain.
The committee also asked whether there was a mechanism by where pharmacies could return scripts written as Rewisca when this was outside the product license.
Action MH: Ask Peter Johnstone about a mechanism by where pharmacies could return Rewisca scripts to surgeries when the item had been written off license.
The committee then discussed what, if anything, is being done nationally about this issue by PSNC. It was noted that whilst the judicial review into the 2017/18 funding package was ongoing that the Department of Health had not been communicating with PSNC on any matter apart from concessionary payments. However, the PSNC had been discussing this for some years without any apparent success. Members asked whether any successes had been had locally in other areas?
Action MH: Ask the PSNC Chief Officer’s Group whether other areas have had any successes and learnings with regards to branded generics and check progress with PSNC.
EG reported an email that he had seen from a member of the Medicines Management Team to a GP. The content was regarded as inflammatory, and would do nothing to help GP/pharmacy relations. MH advised he was still awaiting a date from the LMC to meet; and that he had reflected on this email and informed members of a plan to engage with the Medicines Management Team to highlight the work community pharmacy does, how the contract works, and how local pharmacies can be used to help their agenda. Members agreed this was an appropriate plan.
Action MH: Confirm date with LMC for LPC/LMC meeting.
Action MH: Approach the Head of Medicines Management to discuss forward ways of working between community pharmacy and the Medicines Management Team.
Members discussed how the cuts were affecting local pharmacies and outlined some of the issues contractors were likely to be facing. It was agreed to ask contractors to get in touch with the LPC
if they have concerns over how they have been affected by the cuts.
Actions COMMS: Look at data regarding pharmacy cuts we could/should ask for from contractors and create a memo to include in the next newsletter.
M17/045LPC Business – for discussion
M17/045.1 John Davey Expenses
The committee discussed this issue. JD left the meeting at this point (11:00) and did not return.
M17/045.2 Third Party Ordering
The CCG has informed us of their intention to stop third parties, such as pharmacies, from ordering patient prescriptions on their behalf. It was noted that this is a risk to contractors and could lead to problems with patients accessing their medicines. Questions were raised on how this could ever be policed effectively. Other members noted the massive time constraint on the pharmacies in ordering for pharmacies currently and this could lead to efficiencies. KM raised issues that had been faced on the Wirral where this has been implemented. The LPC has been invited to be part of the project group that will discuss and implement this in Liverpool. The CCG has ensured that no communications would be sent out without the prior approval of the LPC. It was agreed to have representation on the project group as in other areas where this had already occurred, the local LPC’s rarely have much input. Members gave KM some pointers on how to steer the conversation at the meeting the following day.
Action KM: Take the committees thoughts to the Repeat Ordering Project Group.
M17/045.3 MALPS/Collaborative Working
DS gave an update to the committee of the recent MALPS collaborative working meeting attended by himself and MH. It was noted that this work stream had stalled somewhat due to issues in the Cheshire and Wirral LPC patch meaning effective working over the whole of Cheshire and Merseyside would be hard to achieve at this moment in time.
The committee went on to discuss the merger between Liverpool, South Sefton and Southport and Formby CCG’s. This is due to complete in April 2018. A discussion was had over what this meant for the ongoing working relationship between Liverpool and Sefton LPC’s, and whether closer working should be discussed between the two respective committees. It was agreed to also discuss this with Halton, St Helens and Knowsley LPC; being the third LPC covering Merseyside.
Action DS: Speak to the Chairs of Sefton and Halton, St Helens and Knowsley LPC’s regarding closer working
M17/045.4 Chief Officer’s Report
The report had been circulated in advance and MH invited questions from members. MH commented that he had spent a lot of time setting up a PharmOutcomes license across Cheshire and Merseyside and had also spent a considerable amount of time setting up the PNA questionnaire for all local authority areas. Another point to note was the success in getting a mini service commissioned in seven pharmacies. Those pharmacies that offer emergency hormonal contraception are being commissioned to house a ‘bin’ containing chlamydia testing kits. Whilst this was only to be commissioned in seven pharmacies, it was noted that this was a start.
M17/045.5 Continuity Planning
MH is due to go on paternity leave form the 5th June, taking three weeks off in total. Members discussed what measures could be put in place during this time so that normal service continues for contractors. It was noted that the new Engagement Officer should be in post by that point, so there would be a point of contact. DS offered to spend a couple of hours a week looking through emails and liaising with the new Engagement Officer during MH’s absence. Members agreed to this.
M17/045.6 Engagement Officer
Since advertising the Engagement Officer job on Indeed, and in the job centre, there had been an influx of mostly unsuitable applications for the role. There were some glimmers of hope, however, and six candidates have been invited to interview. These are to be held at 60 Hope Street on Tuesday 2nd May. DS, KM and MH will form the interview panel. MH had sourced suitable questions to ask candidates, and had set up the interviews. KM offered to complete the contract for the new officer.
Action KM: Complete the contract for the new Engagement Officer
M17/045.7General Election
Since the last meeting, a General Election has been called. The PSNC has emailed LPC’s with hints and tips on how to engage candidates and promote community pharmacy. Given the short time frames and likelihood of the result locally, there was not a lot of appetite for the LPC to engage with local politicians at this time. It was agreed to send out information to contractors in the next newsletter so they could engage if they saw fit.
Action MH: Provide lists of candidates to contractors in the next bulletin and forward information sent from the PSNC to contractors.
M17/035.8Contracts update
There had been no new contract applications within Liverpool since the last meeting.
M17/045.9 Sub-Group Session and Feedback
The committee split into their respective sub-groups for the afternoon session of the meeting. After the session, each sub-group fed back to the full committee.
Services Sub-Group – The group had reviewed the take up of the EHC service in the few pharmacies that offer it. An audit would be conducted in selected pharmacies to quantify the numbers of patients turned away from pharmacies who do not want to pay for EHC, and where they then present. It was agreed to capture this data prior to the next meeting. The group also reviewed the Care at the Chemist service, and produced a list of conditions where there is a cheaper alternative medicine available. They also highlighted some conditions that are at threat of being withdrawn from the service, but members argue should remain.
Communications Sub-group – This groups attention was drawn to getting messages out to contractors in a timely manner and how we can better internally communicate as members and officers.
Governance Sub-group – The sub-group had been reviewing governance policies from other areas with a view to adapt and adopt these in Liverpool. A question was raised whether the committee’s insurance policy provided legal cover in the eventuality of a contractor claiming against a member of officer for providing incorrect advice. MH would look through the policy and contact the NPA if required.
Action MH: Check the LPC insurance policy for indemnity cover and seek advice from the insurers on this topic.
M17/046 Treasurer’s Report
In the absence of the treasurer, MH provided members with the most recent bank balance. MH advised that the quarterly report for Q4 would be presented by BC at the next meeting. He also informed members that the cut in contractor levy had been actioned. Prior to the cut occurring, he noted there had been a decrease in levy due to the funding cut contractors were facing. EG asked whether this could be shared with members.
Action MH: Email members a breakdown of the levels of remuneration received from the contractor levy comparing the last three months to that of the previous year.
M17/047Any Other Business
LD had been admitted onto the PSNC Leadership Academy. Members congratulated her on the appointment. KM stated it was the second year running that a member had been on the leadership academy; and the programme had run only for this period of time. LD gave an overview of the day, and would like to share her experience at the next meeting.
M17/048 Date and Time of Next Meeting
Thursday 1st June 2017,9.30am at 60 Hope Street.