Pharmacy teams have reported “major issues” to Community Pharmacy England (CPE) about “large numbers” of patients booking NHS COVID-19 vaccinations who “are not eligible”, the negotiator revealed last week (October 3).
CPE has received reports that “high numbers of ineligible people” are presenting for the jab, with “many pharmacy owners reporting that a third to half of patients booked via the national booking system (NBS) are not eligible”, it said.
It comes after the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) – in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) – announced in June that the age of adults eligible for the jab would rise from 65-plus to “75 years and over”.
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The “significant change” in vaccine eligibility compared with last winter is “the key issue that is creating confusion among members of the public”, CPE said.
“Many of those aged under 75 years who were eligible for vaccination last winter seem to have assumed that they are still eligible and have booked appointments at pharmacies via the NBS, despite the wording on the booking system relating to eligibility,” it added.
But it also noted that some ineligible patients “are being directed to pharmacies by staff at general practices”.
“Unacceptable situation”
The negotiator stressed that it is working with NHS England (NHSE) to “try to address this unacceptable situation” and to get “more NHS communications issued” to help people understand COVID vaccine eligibility.
CPE has also raised the issue with the NHSE national vaccinations team and has been in “ongoing contact with them over the last few days”, it said.
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“All of this is having a significant impact on pharmacy teams,” CPE stressed, explaining that it is “inevitably resulting in time spent explaining the situation to patients, which is not funded by the NHS”.
According to the negotiator, patients have been “upset”, “angry” and sometimes even “abusive” to pharmacy team members when discovering they are not eligible.
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CPE called on NHSE “as a matter of urgency” to:
- “Amend the wording” on the NBS to highlight the eligibility for the jab has changed
- Ensure links to “further information” on eligibility are “prominently displayed” on NBS booking screens
- “Issue a message to patients who have already booked appointments” via the NBS to “highlight the changes” and explain that eligibility will be “checked at the pharmacy”
- Issue “NHS-branded communications materials” that pharmacies can use to explain the eligibility change
- Issue communications to “remind general practice teams of the changes to the eligible cohorts”
“Reckless decision”
Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck also last week raised concerns about “the impact of the JCVI’s reckless decision”, calling the rule change “deeply concerning”.
“Denying millions of pensioners their vaccine puts patient health at serious risk and looks like a false economy, especially after last winter’s surge in hospitalisations”, she said.
She warned that pharmacists are “bearing the brunt of patients’ frustration” and “facing abuse and threats for decisions they didn’t make”.
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And the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) also today (October 6) said it has “urgently raised this issue with NHSE and the DH”, asking for it to “resolved as soon as possible”.
“This should have been avoidable and it is deeply frustrating for both pharmacies and patients,” NPA chief executive Henry Gregg said, urging patients to “treat pharmacy teams with respect”.
It comes after the IPA raised concerns about the decision in August, arguing that it seems like “madness” that “British seniors are being denied protection” from COVID-19.
