Dear Member,

There are some important changes which have been made to the pandemic delivery service. Please read below for more information. 

What you need to do:

1. Continue to provide / claim for patients eligible under the ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ groups until 31^st March 2021 at 11.59pm
2. Submit your claims via MYS by 5^th April 2021 
3. *NEW* - From 16^th March 2021 until 30^th June 2021 you can claim for deliveries made to people who are self-isolating (positive cases and close contacts) but you must do the following:
   1. The patient must have been notified by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate AND have an Account ID reference number (8 character mix of letters and numbers)
   2. If they do not have an account ID reference number you are not able to claim for the delivery
   3. They are eligible for the service during their 10 day self-isolation period if they are unable to arrange for medicines to be picked up
   4. You must keep a record of the patient details & the account ID reference number for your delivery record 
4. Claims to be made via MYS by the 5^th of the month after the service was provided
5. Use the delivery log attached to record your deliveries and keep as evidence in case of post-verification checks

No account ID via the NHS app:

• Self-isolators can also be identified via the NHS app. 
• Due to the anonymous operation of the app, they are not registered on the Test and Trace database and will not receive a Test and Trace Account ID reference number. 
• They may obtain a Test and Trace Account ID reference number through a ‘financial support’ button on the app, but only if they are eligible for the £500 Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme. 
• App users who have not been contacted by Test and Trace through other channels, and who are not eligible for the support payment scheme, will not be able to obtain a Test and Trace Account ID reference number and they will not be able to access the free medicines delivery service at this stage.

When does the 10 days self isolation period begin and end?

• Period either begins from when symptoms started or if there were no symptoms, from when the test was taken
• The period will end after 10 days 
• Should COVID-19 symptoms develop within the initial 10-day isolation period after receiving an initial positive test (where no symptoms were being exhibited), or as a contact, and the advice given is to continue to isolate for a short period beyond the initial 10 days, self- isolating people will still be provided the medicines delivery service against their initial Test and Trace Account ID reference number.
• The maximum amount of time someone could be self-isolating is 20 days i.e. in the unlikely event they develop symptoms on the 10th day of their self-isolation period.
• Each time someone enters the Test and Trace system, they will receive a new Test and Trace Account ID reference number.

Useful documents:

• Read the NHSE&I announcement and additional guidance
• NHSE&I guidance on the community pharmacy Essential service element and the Advanced service specification
• Further detail on the service requirements can be found here