Contents

• Appendix A – Venue checklist

Official

Publication approval reference: C1157

To:

• NHSE/I Directors of Commissioning
• NHSE/I Directors of Primary Care and Public Health
• CCG Accountable Officers

Cc:

• PCNs and community pharmacy sites

24 February 2021

Dear colleagues

Thank you for your continued efforts to ensure that all eligible patients are offered a COVID-19 vaccination.

It is critical that nobody is left behind, and we are writing to make you aware of some further opportunities to reach out to communities with lower uptake levels by operating temporary vaccination clinics in community venues.

In particular, a large number of places of worship have expressed an interest in supporting the COVID-19 vaccination programme. A list of the venues which have volunteered to host temporary vaccination clinics can be found on the NHS Futures Platform. We are keen to support these venues – subject to them meeting essential safety criteria – to partner with existing PCN and pharmacy providers to host roving COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

CCGs and local commissioners are asked to help facilitate conversations between the venues and PCN groupings delivering the Enhanced Service (ES) and/or Community Pharmacies delivering the LES and to advise their NHS England regional team if a provider is able to hold a temporary vaccination clinic from these sites.

NHS England through its regional teams may commission the temporary vaccination clinic under the terms of the ES (for GP practices collaborating in a PCN grouping) or the LES (for Community Pharmacy) and will confirm in writing with the provider the arrangements, which should include:

• A definition of the population who will be invited to take up vaccinations at the temporary vaccination clinic and which must be restricted to currently eligible and authorised cohorts. If this is likely to include eligible patients who are registered with another practice outside the PCN grouping that is being commissioned, the commissioner should try to inform the practices concerned that this additional choice is being made available to enhance uptake levels.
• Confirmation of how patients will be invited to the clinic.
• Confirmation of any other providers who will be vaccinating at the venue and the agreed schedule they will work to. The capacity of individual venues and preferred local arrangements will guide whether multiple providers can use the space at the same time but this is unlikely to be advisable.
• A definition of the timeframe for when the clinic will be set up, on which dates and the agreed stand down date.
• Assurance that where required, equipment will be provided locally.

If a provider is commissioned to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations from a temporary vaccination clinic:

• The provider would receive £12.58 per vaccination delivered at these clinics under the terms of the ES (for PCN groupings) and LES (for community pharmacies).
• The provider would need to transport AstraZeneca (Oxford) vaccine and associated consumables to the clinic from its existing allocation. Further guidance on the movement of this vaccine can be found here. It will not be possible to transport the Pfizer vaccine for use at these temporary vaccination clinics.
• Second dose clinics will also need to be scheduled at the same venue within the required time period.
• It is anticipated that the venue itself would, in most cases, be available free of charge but some running costs may be reimbursable if VFM requirements are met. These costs will be funded through the Reasonable Additional Costs funds which must be agreed by CCGs and local commissioners and paid through regions. The guidance for these payments for PCN sites can be found here: Financial Guidance for PCNs v3 29 Jan 2021 – Primary Care Networks Development Support – FutureNHS Collaboration Platform. The guidance for Community Pharmacy sites can be found here. Providers are encouraged to use the Licence to Occupy template available on NHS Futures. Buildings insurance will be covered by landlords, contents insurance should be taken out by tenants.

Providers are also encouraged to consider whether they need to undertake a security risk assessment. A template is available on NHS Futures. If the venue is only available for a short period (ie, 1-2 day), providers would need to use their existing roving kits to deliver the clinics and no further equipment would be provided.

If the venue is available and commissioned for a longer period (eg, once a week for 5 months), the provider may request an additional roving SIL from NHS England, but should only do so where existing equipment cannot be used. Where it is possible to provide an additional roving SIL, providers should allow 10 days for the SIL to be delivered. If equipment/chairs/tables/screens are needed, commissioners should seek to provide this through mutual aid. Commissioners should also undertake a visit to ensure the venue meets minimum requirements. A checklist is included at Appendix A.

The Standard Operating Model for this temporary vaccination clinic model will be included in the COVID-19 local vaccination services deployment in community settings SOP in due course.

For further information, please contact: england.pccovidvaccine@nhs.net

Finally, there may be further community venues that are able to support the COVID-19 vaccination programme. We would encourage local commissioners to explore further opportunities particularly in areas with the greatest health inequalities.

Thank you again for your ongoing support.

Best wishes

Dr Nikita Kanani | Medical Director for Primary Care | NHS England and NHS Improvement

Ed Waller | Director of Primary Care | NHS England and NHS Improvement

Appendix A – Venue checklist

Venues being used for temporary vaccination clinics will not be formally designated as vaccination sites but still will need to meet a set of requirements to ensure that they are suitable for vaccine delivery.
As a minimum, the venues should be:

• Accessible.
• Available for exclusive use on days agreed with local commissioner for the period they will be in use as a temporary vaccination clinic.
• Able to provide at least c350sqm plus staff/public facilities (ideally, ground floor), with parking on site or close by.
• Able to provide separate entrance & exit points to assist with social distancing and support a natural flow of patients through the building to comply with social distancing guidance.
• Wi-Fi enabled – the venue will need appropriate Wi-Fi connectivity depending on the use of the venue.
• Well-ventilated.
• Accessible via local transport or in the local community.

All venues will be assessed on their ability to provide three key areas:

1. Arrival and check-in
2. Clinical assessment
3. Delivery of vaccination

There are minimum space requirements for each area.