Expression of Interest for the delivery of Pharmacy First (Minor Ailments) Scheme for Southern Derbyshire

NHS Arden & Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (NHS Arden & GEM CSU) on behalf of NHS Southern Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (SDCCG) is inviting expressions of interest from suitably qualified providers to deliver the Pharmacy First (Minor Ailments) Scheme in Southern Derbyshire.

Southern Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group is currently undertaking a 6 month pilot in Swadlincote with the intention of expanding the service across SDCCG if the scheme proves successful.

The aim of the scheme is to ensure that service users can access face to face self-care advice from a community pharmacy for the treatment of common ailments and, where appropriate, can be supplied with over the counter medicines, at NHS expense, to treat their ailment. The benefits of the scheme are to:

• Improve service users’ access to advice and appropriate treatment for common ailments.
• Reduce GP workload for common ailments allowing greater focus on more complex and urgent medical condition.
• Promote the role of the Community Pharmacist and self-care.
• Improve working relationships between Doctors and Pharmacists.

The Pharmacy First Scheme would be offered as a suitable alternative for service users to access healthcare. Service users may choose to refuse this service and continue to access care in the same ways as they have done previously.

The service is only available for the ailments listed and for service users who are exempt from prescription charges and in community pharmacies who have signed up to the service. Only medicines specified in the Pharmacy First protocols may be supplied for the ailments specified.

Ailments included:

Athletes Foot, Toothache, Earache, Teething, Constipation, Diarrhoea, Insect Bites & Stings, Head Lice, Temperature/Fever associated with URTI, Threadworm, Sore Throat, Hay fever, Bacterial Conjunctivitis, Vaginal Thrush & Haemorrhoids.

Potential providers with relevant capability and experience to deliver this service are required to express an interest if they are interested in bidding for this service should Southern Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group decide to carry out a competitive tender exercise and publishes a Contract Notice for this requirement.

You can express an interest in this market testing exercise by registering your organisation on the Bravo website: https://ardengemcsu.bravosolution.co.uk. The PQQ reference is PQQ_215.

Once registered, please complete the qualification envelope which asks providers to give details about your organisation’s name, postal address, contact details including name, telephone number and email. A brief summary of your previous experience of delivering Minor Ailment Scheme or a similar service is also requested.

Additional information: Please note that this is a market testing exercise to inform the CCG decision making process. This does not commit the CCG to carry out a procurement process. Bidders who have expressed an interest in this market testing exercise will have to submit a separate response to the Contract Notice should the CCG decide to procure this service and publish a Contract Notice (advert) for this requirement.

The Deadline for submitting a response for this market testing exercise is 2pm on 1st July 2016