As pharmacists prepare for the national flu service for a second year, NHS England could not tell C+D when the updated service specification and patient group direction (PGD) would be published.

Instead, the commissioning body said that documentation relating to the flu service “requires collaboration with other agencies” and it is working with them “to ensure timely publication”.

Pharmacists told C+D last week (August 8) they were hoping the necessary paperwork was made available in plenty of time this year, after criticising the late delivery of the required documents last winter.

Many are preparing in advance just in case.

Time to prepare

Neil Mowbray, manager at a Day Lewis branch in Newlands, Hull, said his team are “doing everything at our end to be ready to go… even though there’s been no paperwork yet”.

“I’m hoping things do get sorted in time as last year the delay caused us a lot of problems," Mr Mowbray told C+D.

"I have just been on the updated training course, and so I am trying to organise our staff and our pharmacy services as best we can. We’re trying to push our flu service in the pharmacy and we’re getting everything ready to start in September". 

Anar Tajani, a pharmacist at Portman’s Pharmacy in Pimlico, London, said: “We are all ready – just waiting for the green light”.

Ms Tajani said she expects the service’s biggest hold-up to be caused by delayed supplies of the vaccine from the manufacturer, rather than the documentation.

Pharmacy London chief executive Rekha Shah agreed.

Even if pharmacists don’t get the final documents until the end of August, some flu vaccines are not supplied to pharmacies until September 12, she told C+D.

Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire chief executive Robbie Turner said he is confident the service will follow the same pattern as last flu season: “We are set up to go locally, assuming it is all the same this time.”

Despite the delayed rollout last year, community pharmacies in England delivered more than 595,000 vaccinations, according to NHS Business Services Authority data.