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Issue 12 - 22 December 2005 Introduction Welcome to Issue 12 of HOS@PCC Welcome to the last HOS bulletin of 2005. Over the last 12 weeks our aim has been to keep you fully updated on all developments relating to the implementation of the new Home Oxygen Service on 1 February 2006. We have also shared best practice and have been pleased to pass on your views, experiences and questions. The bulletin returns on Friday 6 January and will continue into the transition period. If you have any feedback please contact us at hos.newsletter@pcconline.info The bulletin is currently mailed to 1,800 subscribers including SHA and PCT oxygen leads, new oxygen supply companies and other key stakeholders. Please feel free to email it to any colleague you think might be interested in the information it contains. Anyone wishing to subscribe may do so. We would like to wish everyone a happy and peaceful holiday. Subscribing & unsubscribing Click here to subscribe to receive your own copy of this newsletter. Click here to unsubscribe yourself from this newsletter. Previous Issues If you have missed any previous issues click here. News and information In this issue … Patient information Patient leaflets /posters Supplier leaflets and 2nd model letter HOOF/HOCF LOX guidelines Supplier announcements Sharing best practice Feedback Key deadlines Key documents including FAQs Key links Patient information Please note the following point regarding the release of patient information to suppliers. Would all please note that the release of information to suppliers by 6th January 2006 should not be sent by email, because it will contain patient identifiable data. The best way of getting this information to your supplier is on a CD posted via registered post. Thank you. Patient leaflets/posters There are still plenty of leaflets available so if you would like to order a batch, please do so via the newsletter ( hos.newsletter@pcconline.info) . Please state quantity and delivery address clearly and mark your email LEAFLET REPRINT. The cylinder return poster (click here) is being printed and will be distributed by Astron into PCT stores in early January. We have calculated the poster distribution according to numbers of GP surgeries within each PCT. We recommend that PCTs distribute at least one poster to each GP surgery by their usual delivery method and consider other outlets such as local libraries, community centres and supermarkets. Those who have the facility to print the poster and would like to start distributing it now are welcome to do so. Please ensure you use the correct version published on the PPC website, see above link. We have consulted with the PSNC and understand that most pharmacies will not have space to display the poster. However, if a particular pharmacy wishes to display a poster and requests one/some from their PCT we have allowed extra to cover this. The poster will also appear as an advertisement in the inside front cover of the British Lung Foundation’s January issue of Breathe Easy, which goes out directly to 22,000 members and also to 11,000 GP surgeries. We will also be making leaflets and posters available at the contract management seminars. Supplier leaflets and 2nd PCT model letter The four new suppliers are all producing an introductory patient information leaflet, which they will send out in January together with a letter from PCTs. Please click here to download the model letter. HOOF/HOCF The final home oxygen order form (HOOF) and home oxygen consent form (HOCF) have now been signed off by all parties and the printers are working to produce them as quickly as they can. Thanks to all who contributed to their design. We have asked the printer to produce: Printed copies of both forms, which will be available in packs of 1,000. Unfortunately it is now unlikely that these will be available until the third week of January. We will keep you posted on progress and will let you know when and how to order them once we hear from the printers. A Word version, which we will place on the PCC website at the end of the first week of January. This version will ‘lock’ the field descriptions and only the orderer will be able to insert the variable information into shaded areas. This will help you with collecting the information and avoid accidental deletion of the fixed information. Until these are available, we have put PDF versions of both forms on the website. These can be downloaded and used temporarily until the printer’s versions are available. The DH approved HOOF is available here. The HOCF is available here. We apologise for the fact that these will not be available as soon as we had hoped but trust the PDF versions, which can be printed locally, will provide a suitable stop gap. LOX guidelines For guidelines for the transfer of patients on liquid oxygen, click here. Supplier announcements Recruitment is well under way at Allied …. “Having the right staff in the right place at the right time will be critical if we are to ensure the highest levels of customer care and satisfaction” says Steve Gullick, MD of Allied Respiratory. The new customer service team is now on board at their new offices in East Grinstead and training is already underway to ensure the right systems are put in place to meet the contract specification. Acting as the facilitator, the Customer Service Adviser will be the focal point for all communications between patients, clinicians, PCTs and other contractors to ensure seamless service delivery. To see the full announcement, please click here. Sharing best practice Many thanks to John Reuben, Prescribing Support Pharmacist from South Norfolk PCT whose Powerpoint presentation for GPs, put together by the Norfolk Oxygen Contract Implementation team, is an excellent guideline. To see it, please click here. NHS guidelines for GPs will be published on the website shortly. Feedback Some people have told us they have been unable to open the hyperlinks on the news bulletin. Please note that most of the key documents have also been published on the HOS section of the PCC website. Key deadlines for PCTs 24 December 2005 * NOW * PCTs to have gained concentrator and cylinder patient consent for transfer of data to new suppliers. Our understanding is that PCTs have made excellent progress in meeting the deadlines for collection of information about patients. If, however, you are experiencing problems or you’ve fallen behind and are concerned please let us know. 6th January 2006 Handover of all patient data to new suppliers for those patients who have consented. HOOF/HOCF available Transitional guidance to Community Pharmacists Transitional guidance to GPs 13 January 2006 Patient information letter to be with new oxygen company for distribution with oxygen supplier’s leaflets. 1st February 2006 The new home oxygen service begins. ASAP Pass core patient data (postcode and usage information - see toolkit ) to supplier to allow them to undertake logistics planning. Please note no patient identifiable data should be passed to the supplier at this stage. Key documents Click here for local communications guide. Click here for full details of your new regional oxygen supply company. Click here for comprehensive FAQs Click here for PSNC news Click here for Drug Tariff letter to GPs Click here for letter to GPs and pharmacists to accompany patient information leaflet Click here for Patient Data Collection Template Click here for Patient Data Collection Toolkit Click here for model letter for patient consent to transfer data Key links British Thoracic Society clinical guidelines www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/c2/oads/oxygenserviceaug05.pdf British Lung Foundation www.lunguk.org Cystic Fibrosis Trust www.cftrust.org.uk Long Term Medical Conditions Alliance www.lmca.org.uk Guidance on DPA and consent www.doh.gov.uk/consent www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
If you have any comments about HOS@PCC, please email them to: hos.newsletter@pcconline.info HOS@PCC is produced by the Primary Care Contracting Team