C-19 lateral flow device distribution service
At the end of March 2021, a new Advanced service – the NHS community pharmacy COVID-19 lateral flow device distribution service (or ‘Pharmacy Collect’ as it is described in communications to the public) – was added to the NHS Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework.
This service, which pharmacy contractors can choose to provide, as long as they meet the necessary requirements, aims to improve access to COVID-19 testing by making lateral flow device (LFD) test kits readily available at community pharmacies for asymptomatic people, to identify COVID-positive cases in the community and break the chain of transmission.
The service is part of the Government’s offer of lateral flow testing to all people in England and it works alongside NHS Test and Trace’s other COVID-19 testing routes.
Read the PSNC news story announcing the new service
Click on a heading below for more information
Introduction
Overview of the service
Preparing to provide the service
Promoting the service
Funding and claiming payment
Funding for provision of the service is made up of the following elements:
- An early sign-up fee of £200 + VAT, for any contractors who signed up to provide the service by 23:59 on 18th April 2021. This payment was triggered by completion of the registration declaration on the MYS portal by 23:59 on 18th April 2021.
- A one-off set-up fee of £250 + VAT, which covers set-up costs including creating an SOP for the service and training staff who will be involved in providing the service, and storage costs for the test kits ordered from wholesalers. This payment will be triggered by completion of the registration declaration on the MYS portal.
- A service fee of £1.50 + VAT per transaction (the supply of up to 4 boxes of test kits to a person requesting them). This payment will be made based on the weekly declarations submitted by the contractor on the MYS portal.
That means contractors who signed up to provide the service by 23:59 on 18th April 2021 will have received £450 + VAT in up-front payments for the service, in addition to the service fee for each transaction undertaken.
The funding comes from outside the pharmacy Global Sum.
In line with the usual Drug Tariff requirements, the NHSBSA must receive claims for payments for this service by the fifth day of the following month. They will make appropriate payments, to the contractor, corresponding to the weekly reporting cycle, on the same payment date as other payments for NHS Pharmaceutical Services. The payments will be separately itemised on the FP34 Schedule of Payments.
