Regs reminder (#3): NHSmail
Ahead of the 2021/22 contract monitoring process, community pharmacy contractors are reminded of recent changes to the pharmacy Terms of Service. This article is part of a series of reminders.
On 20th October 2020 new NHS regulations were laid to introduce changes to the Terms of Service for pharmacy contractors. PSNC issued a series of 14 Regs explainer articles in November 2020 to help contractors and their teams to understand the new requirements.
Whilst deadlines for compliance with the changes have now passed, the end of 2020 was a particularly busy time for pharmacies, so contractors are advised to review our reminders in preparation for completing the 2021/22 Community Pharmacy Assurance Framework (CPAF) survey, which will include questions on some aspects of the new Terms of Service.
What is required?
Pharmacy contractors must have a premises specific NHSmail account (with an email address using the following naming convention: ‘pharmacy.ODScode@nhs.net’), which their staff can access and can send and receive NHSmail from. There must be at least two members of staff that have live personal NHSmail accounts that are linked to the premises specific NHSmail account.
Most pharmacy contractors will already comply with this requirement, as setting up and maintaining a premises shared NHSmail account and staff having associated personal NHSmail accounts which are used to access the shared mailbox was previously a Pharmacy Quality Scheme requirement. These accounts were originally set up with addresses in the following format: ‘nhspharmacy.location.pharmacynameODScode@nhs.net’, but these were updated earlier in the year to the ‘pharmacy.ODScode@nhs.net’ format.
Pharmacy contractors should ensure staff with personal NHSmail accounts linked to the shared mailbox keep their personal accounts active and staff should regularly check the shared mailbox throughout the opening hours of the pharmacy.
Where can I get more support on this?
Further guidance on how to access and use NHSmail in community pharmacies can be found on PSNC’s NHSmail webpage.
