Pharmacy technicians have been added to the community pharmacy influenza vaccination patient group direction (PGD), NHS England (NHSE) revealed last week (July 4).

The amended PGD, which is valid from September 1 2024 to April 1 2025, saw the inclusion of registered pharmacy technicians among the professionals permitted to supply and administer vaccinations in a community pharmacy setting.

Community Pharmacy England’s (CPE) NHS services director Alastair Buxton today (July 8) said that this is the “first nationally commissioned NHS community pharmacy service under which pharmacy technicians can administer a medicine under a PGD”.

Read more: Pharmacy technicians allowed to supply drugs under PGDs from this month

Buxton told C+D that the flu vaccination service specifications and PGD had been “previously amended in agreement” with CPE to permit “greater flexibility in the use of skill mix”.

He said that the recent legislative change affecting pharmacy technicians - “long supported” by CPE - “now allows those previously agreed flexibilities to apply to the flu vaccination service”.

“Additional requirements”

According to the PGD, pharmacy technicians must have fulfilled its “additional requirements” including receiving “appropriate” training and being authorised by name before being allowed to work under it.

Patient eligibility criteria and last month’s amendments to the June flu letter were also included in the PGD updates, which were introduced on June 20 according to the document.

CPE’s service development manager David Onuoha was a member of the working group that developed the PGD, while three members of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) signed it on June 14.

Read more: Flu programme dates announced but pharmacies to source Sanofi alternatives

Last month, C+D reported that NHS flu vaccinations for most adults “will commence October 3”, after it was confirmed in May that pregnant women and children will be offered the free vaccine from September 1.

Also last month, C+D broke the news that the legislative amendments permitting pharmacy technicians to supply and administer prescription drugs under PGDs would come into force on June 26, after being pushed through in a pre-election wash-up.

Read more: ‘Landmark’ first pharmacy technician PGD day hailed by profession

C+D later revealed that a private services provider had updated its service specifications to allow pharmacy technicians to use PGDs from June 26 - but CPE said that there could “be no immediate change in the provision of community pharmacy services” following the change to legislation.

This message from CPE was repeated on June 26, when the pharmacy technician profession celebrated its entry into the list of PGD competent professionals.

CPE stressed that there can be “no immediate change” until service provision updates to NHS contracts have been first “considered in negotiations”.