On 14th April NHS England and NHS Improvement announced changes to the requirement of this years flu vaccination training in light of covid19.
Well this announcement came as no surprise and it makes complete sense. There would be nothing worse, in this pandemic, than to end up with insufficient pharmacists qualified to administer flu vaccines (around the corner) as well as hopefully an impending Covid19 vaccine. So, to be clear – as we know, the need to attend face to face vaccination training for pharmacists had already been moved from two to three yearly. Surprisingly 2019 should have been that ‘extra’ year that pharmacists had been given, but at ECG training, we were busier than ever with vaccination courses. Part of the reason being that many pharmacists and organisations did decide to stay on the two-yearly plan, to ensure they felt sufficiently updated and prepared for vaccinations. This should help now that another year will be missed.
We have summarised here the four groups of pharmacists that we can identify – in relation to where they are with their vaccination training!
- Pharmacists who have attended previous face to face training and were due their 3 yearly face to face training this year
- Pharmacists who have completed face to face training within the last 3 years and would just need to complete online training this year as a refresher
- Pharmacists (and pre-reg) who have never completed any vaccination training
- Pharmacists who have attended face to face training more than 3yrs ago
So, depending on which category you fall in to, depends on what solutions we have up our sleeve for you! Here it goes..
1) Pharmacists who have attended previous face to face training and were due their 3 yearly face to face training this year
You are NOT required to attend face to face training this time, but advised to complete online training to refresh.
Your options are:
A: complete the free e-learning from HEE https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/flu-immunisation/ (This covers information around the flu vaccine)
B: complete our vaccination refresher course https://ecgtraining.co.uk/product/vaccination-refresher/? (This covers the flu vaccine, plus all the practical skills around vaccination, CPR and anaphylaxis, including refresher videos) £25(inc vat)
C: sign up to one of our live vaccination refresher webinars https://ecgtraining.co.uk/product/vaccine-ref-webinar/? (This is a live, interactive webinar where our clinical trainers will go through all the practical skills and you can ask any questions – you also get the above online course for resources as part of the price) £35 (incl vat). These start in May, mainly run on Sundays and will last approx 1.5hrs – of and it will be fun
2) Pharmacists who have completed face to face training within the last 3 years and would just need to complete online training this year as a refresher
A: If you feel confident you do not have to complete online training
B: You can update your vaccination skills and knowledge via the options above (our online or webinar refresher options) or indeed the HEE e-learning for information around the flu vaccines and immunisation schedules
3) Pharmacists (and pre-reg) who have never completed any vaccination training
You don’t have any options, you HAVE to attend face to face training
Luckily for you though, we WILL still be providing face to face vaccination training for anyone falling into this group, as we want to ensure there are enough pharmacists trained in vaccination skills, for both flu and also covid (have my fingers crossed!). Until the guidance changes, we will of course be running smaller training groups, all be staying 2 metres apart, have strict cleaning policies for the venue and provide you with the necessary PPE as recommended.
Keep an eye on this link as we will soon be announcing dates for during the covid period https://ecgtraining.co.uk/product/vaccinationfull/?
4) Pharmacists who have attended face to face training more than 3 years ago
Hopefully, there won’t be many pharmacists in this category, but we have already been asked – so we know th
In our opinion you should attend full face to face training https://ecgtraining.co.uk/product/vaccinationfull/?
Obviously this is specifically around flu vaccinations, you must always work within your scope. If you are interested in upskilling to provide additional vaccinations, such as chicken pox, then please contact us for more information about our face to face courses and how we can still get you trained up for that.
What about our added value (I hear you ask…)
We haven’t forgotten that each year we offer ‘added value’ within our vaccination courses!! This year is to train you up to be able to offer a weight management service from your pharmacy. Well can you believe it, we still have an answer for that too!! We now have VERY regular FREE live webinars running, any of you can sign up, you will also receive free access to our full online training material, and a free saxenda PGD. You can also start as soon as you want with remote consultations – so why not get started!
Sign up to one of our free webinars now https://ecgtraining.co.uk/product/weight-management-training/?
So from us all at ECG training – we are still here for you, come what may, keep safe and let us know what help you need to ‘keep on vaccinating…………………..’
#StaySafe
Written by Jane Lambert (ECG CEO & RGN), Thursday 23rd April 2020
Follow me at: https://twitter.com/JaneLambertECG
