06.01.16
GPs and pharmacists told to reissue prescriptions after P2U failure
The largest NHS-approved online pharmacy in the UK, recently fined £130,000 for selling personal customer data via direct marketers, has asked GPs to re-issue prescriptions to patients after a major distribution failure over the holiday period.
In a letter sent to healthcare staff on 23 December, NHS England’s head of primary care commissioning, Dr David Geddes, told GPs and pharmacy employees to use the electronic prescription service (EPS) tracker to help patients pick up medicines from alternative sources.
Geddes also directed NHS 111 call handlers to advise patients to contact the online pharmacy, Pharmacy2U (P2U), or any other pharmacy in order to access the EPS tracker.
Leeds-based P2U experienced “unforeseen difficulties” with processing prescriptions as it transferred its dispensing service to a new automated facility – meaning several patients were left without their medicine from 21 December.
The company said it will not be able to delivery any request prescriptions until 11 January.
In a statement, its managing director and superintendent pharmacist, Daniel Lee, said today: “These exceptional circumstances caused our service to fall below its usual high standard and we are extremely sorry for the inconvenience it has caused. The operational issues are now being resolved and our experienced dispensary team is processing delayed orders as quickly as possible.
“We have been working closely with NHS England and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to help any patients affected. Our customer services team contacted all patients who had a prescription with us to let them know about the issue and provide assistance, so they could have their medication dispensed elsewhere if necessary.”
Independent pharmacist regulator GPhC said that it carried out a special inspection visit of P2U’s premises on 22 December with NHS England after “concerns were raised about patients not receiving their prescription medicines”.
Their inspection found that the pharmacy failed to meet some standards for registered pharmacies, such as by not identifying and managing the risks to patients receiving their medicines “as a result of the recent move to new premises”. Medicines and medical devices were also not being supplied to some patients on time.
In a statement, the regulator said: “We have required P2U to urgently put in place an action plan outlining how improvements will be made so that patients receive their medicines in a timely manner going forward. The GPhC will conduct a follow-up inspection to identify whether the necessary improvements have been made and the action plan has been implemented.”
According to NHS England, P2U is attempting to contact as many patients as possible “to ensure their needs are identified and to refer them to other pharmacies if required”.
In his letter to healthcare staff, Geddes said: “Patients with an outstanding order (electronic or hard copy prescription) are being contacted by email and telephone, those who are unable to wait until 11 January or who cannot be contacted will have their prescription returned to the NHS spine or returned, which means patients can pick up their medicines from any alternative pharmacy using the EPS or with a hard copy.
“Any patients registered with P2U should not need to secure a repeat prescription from their GP… In the unlikely event that the prescription has not been released or is not available to be returned, patients should be advised or supported to contact P2U in order to have that prescription released in the first instance.
“If for any reason P2U cannot be contacted the patient could request an emergency supply from any pharmacy. Failing this the patient can consult their GP with regard to the possibility of securing a replacement prescription.”