NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service Pilot – Lincoln Area. Access to oral contraception - Tier 1 resupply

The aim of this pilot is to create additional capacity in primary care and sexual health clinics and provide improved access for patients. This service is for people who are already taking the oral contraceptive pill and require an ongoing supply.

It is really important that to make this service a success for everyone, GP practices work closely with their local pharmacy branch or branches that are part of the pilot.

The pilot is running up until 31st March 2023, having launched on 6^th February. The government has announced that from Spring 2023 a national Tier 1 service will be launched and it is hoped that additional pharmacies will sign up to offer the service at that point.  The LPC will keep key primary care partners including the LMC and ICS updated when we know more about the national service launch date.

NHS community pharmacies are an accessible and convenient place for people to receive advice and support for contraception. In Lincolnshire, we are testing the option of people being able to have a confidential consultation with a community pharmacist to access their next supply of oral contraception directly from their pharmacist, rather than from their GP or sexual health clinic.

There are 16 Lincolnshire Coop pharmacies in and around the Lincoln area across Apex, IMP, South Lincoln Healthcare and Lincoln Health Partnership PCNs that are offering the Tier 1 service as listed below.

• Lincoln Co-Op Chemist, 10 Brant Road Shopping Centre, Brant Road, Lincoln, LN5 9TR
• Lincoln Co-Op Chemist, 259/261 Lincoln Rd, North Hykeham, Lincoln, LN6 8NH
• Birchwood Pharmacy, Jasmin Road, Birchwood, Lincoln, LN6 OQQ
• Lincoln Co-Op Chemist, 8-10 Grantham Road, Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln, LN4 2LD
• Lincoln Co-Op Chemist, 1a & 5 The Forum, North Hykeham, Lincoln, LN6 8HW
• Lincolnshire Co-op, Sincil Street Pharmacy, 15 Sincil Street, Lincoln, LN5 7ET
• Lincolnshire Co-op, The Pharmacy, 2 The Precinct, Washingborough, Lincoln, LN4 1DQ
• Lincolnshire Co-op, Rookery Lane Pharmacy; 226 Rookery Lane, Lincoln, LN6 7PH
• Lincoln Co-Op Chemist, Station Road, Branston, Lincoln, LN4 1LH
• Lincoln Co-Op Chemist, 18 High Street, Lincoln, LN5 8DB
• Cabourne Avenue Pharmacy, Cabourne Avenue, Lincoln, LN2 2HP
• Lincoln Co-Op Pharmacy, Unit 9, The Parade, Cherry Willingham, Lincolnshire, LN3 4JL
• Lincoln Co-Op, 1 Ryland Road, Welton, Lincoln, LN2 3LU
• Lincolnshire Co-Op, Newland Pharmacy Newland Health Centre, 34 Newland, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN1 1XP
• Lincolnshire Pharmacy Witham St Hughs, Muntjac Way, Witham St Hughs, LN6 9WF
• Lincolnshire Co-op, Monks Road Pharmacy, 121 Monks Road, Lincoln, LN2 5HT

General Practices are able to refer their patients into the pharmacy to have a consultation for resupply of oral contraceptives. For the purposes of this tier 1 service, a referral includes active signposting to attend the pharmacy to receive the service. It would be useful for general practices close to the pilot pharmacies above to make contact with their locally pharmacy to discuss how they can work together on this pilot.

If you are a General Practice located in one of the four Lincoln PCNs where the pilot is active, your PCN will be contacted by a community pharmacy representative soon to assist in maximising the benefits of this service for patients and general practice, taking pressure off appointment time and provided increased flexibility for patients. Some hard copies of the leaflets and A4 posters are available for your practice and will be shared with you soon.

More information about the Tier 1 service can be found below and more details about current and future plans for contraceptive supply in community pharmacy can be found here.

What the Tier 1 service will provide

Under Tier 1, a person may self-refer or be referred by their GP or sexual health clinic to a participating pharmacy to continue their contraception management in a community pharmacy setting. The pharmacist will conduct a confidential consultation with the person and, pending clinical appropriateness, issue a supply of oral contraception.

How people access the tier 1 service

People access the service by one of the following routes:

• Identified as clinically suitable by the community pharmacy team;
• Self-refer to a community pharmacy;
• Referred by their GP practice as they have requested a repeat prescription, and a review is needed;
• Referred from a sexual health clinic.

For the purposes of this tier 1 service, a referral includes active signposting to attend the pharmacy to receive the service.

To be eligible to access this service a person must:

• Have consented to the referral where appropriate and to participate in the pilot service model.
• Require a clinical check appointment before further supplies of ongoing oral contraception are authorised.

• Be an individual seeking a repeat supply of their ongoing OC in line with the PGD protocol, and as follows:
  • combined oral contraceptive (COC) – age from menarche to 50 years.
  • progestogen only pill (POP) – age from menarche to 55 years
• Have already been supplied with OC by their general practice or a sexual health clinic (or equivalent) and a subsequent supply is needed. Their current supply of OC should still be in use.

People who wish to consult another healthcare provider for contraception support are still free to do so. People being referred into this service must have already agreed to be referred to community pharmacy as part of the pilot.

If you have any queries about the pilot in Lincolnshire, please email the LPC, Community Pharmacy Lincolnshire, at info@pharmacylincolnshire.org.