PCSE Optician Update October 2016 - 20/10/2016

Primary Care Support England

PCSE: Optician Update October 2016

Dear colleague,  Welcome to the latest update from PCSE. As of 4 October 2016, I have taken on the role of Managing Director of PCSE and I look forward to working with my colleagues and NHS England to improve the support we provide to you.   I recognise that recent months have been challenging as services transfer from local offices to the new sites, and as we work through the early stages of our change programme. Thank you for the patience you have shown over this period. There have been many learnings and we are making changes. There is much more to do and we want to assure you that we are absolutely committed to providing an efficient and effective support service to you and your practice.   I have worked closely with many practices and local primary care organisations in the past, and I understand the frustrations and the impact when things don’t work as needed.  As a priority I will be spending time in practices understanding issues and ensuring you get the services you expect.  An enormous amount of activity is underway to make sure the required improvements are made. We will continue to keep you regularly informed of progress through these updates and through your local NET representatives.   Best wishes   Simon England Managing Director, Primary Care Support Services   In this bulletin you will find an update on:  Planned changes to some CitySprint routes Updated supplies returns process Ophthalmic payments Performers list Getting in touch  Planned changes to some CitySprint routes There will be changes to some of the CitySprint PCSE supplies delivery routes from 31 October 2016.   If there is a change to your delivery day, or if you will move from a morning to an afternoon slot on vice versa, we will let you know by email this week.    Emails will be sent to the Main Contact we hold for each practice. Please look out for these emails so you are able to brief your staff and avoid any unexpected deliveries.   These route changes will help address the issues that some practices have experienced due to them being closed when deliveries take place. We will also considerably reduce the number of practices visited on some routes to ensure that all practices receive a regular weekly supplies delivery service.   The route changes will affect the day on which around 30% of practices are visited from 31 October.    All practices will notice a change to the route number and stop ID printed on the tracking labels attached to the supplies boxes delivered to your practice.  The example below highlights the information that will change.  You do not need to do anything.     Updated supplies returns process If for any reason you need to return items, this can be managed by clicking on the Returns link in the PCSE portal.     Previously, there was only the option to return either unopened needles and syringes or prescription pads. This week, we’ve introduced an additional category ‘other’ in the ‘returns type’ drop down section in the portal, so other types of items can be returned.     Once you submit the request for a return, CitySprint will arrange for the collection on one of your regular delivery days. You don’t have to do anything else once the items have been collected. Ophthalmic payments By the end of October all opticians should have received, and be using, the new tailored submission headers.  If your practice has already received these, we would have sent you the master copies for your practice and these can be photocopied. If you’d like pdf versions, please email us at pcse.enquiries@nhs.net and put ‘Submission Headers’ in the Email Subject Line.   Please send in two copies of each submission header. One copy will then be returned to you to assist with the reconciliation of payments.   By the end of this week (20 October) all opticians, including those who currently use our Welwyn Garden City office, should be sending GOS claim forms to the Customer Support Centre at:   Primary Care Support England PO Box 350 Darlington DL1 9QN   As a reminder, if you’d like to courier forms to us, there is a separate address courier firms should use: Capita Document & Information Services (PCSE) Unit 1 Roundhouse Road Faverdale Industrial Estate Darlington DL3 0UR. There are no changes to claim form submission dates. A list of claim form submission dates is available on the PCSE website. Performers list Our continued priority is to ensure that all applicants are included on the performers list in a timely way. We’ve put extra resource and training into the team processing applications. We will address the need for clearer communications on the progress of applications. Email updates will be introduced to applicants at specific stages in their application, so that they are kept informed of the status of their application.   Getting in touch Contacting PCSE This week, services will transfer from Welwyn Garden City and the former NHS SBS Leicester and Greenwich offices.  This means that by the end of the week (20 October) the PCSE Customer Support Centre will be the single point of contact for all services for the majority of our service users.  If you previously used our Preston or Clacton offices, please continue to do so. All our contact details can be found here.   We’re making improvements to the way we manage calls into the Customer Support Centre. All callers will be allocated a case number, so we can track progress and keep you updated on the progress of your query more quickly.  We’re also in the process of introducing a triaging system, where calls categorised as urgent will be prioritised for investigation and resolution. PCSE website Over the past week, we’ve refreshed the content and layout of the PCSE website.  It’s now packed with information on how to access your service as well as answers to some of the most frequently asked questions coming from service users. We’d welcome feedback on the refreshed site and suggestions on additional information you’d like to see on there.  If you have any comments or suggestions for future website improvements, please share these with your local NET representative.

This update has been sent to the main contact we hold for this practice. Please share this with your colleagues.   With best wishes, Primary Care Support England