Training for Pharmacists for the Supply and Administration of Emergency Medicines and Vaccinations

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• CPR (Adults and Children)

  All pharmacists must have a valid certificate for CPR for the appropriate age profile of the patient cohort they intend to treat (administer an emergency medicine or vaccinate). Currently pharmacists are only trained to vaccinate adults. However, all pharmacists intending to administer emergency medicines must undergo a course of training in CPR for adults and children. The following CPR courses have been identified as being suitable to meet pharmacists’ training requirement:
  

  • Cardiac First Response Community Level (PHECC)
  • Heartsaver® CPR AED, AHA

  CPR training is face-to-face training.
  Training is generally valid for 2 years from the date of issue of the certificate, however if in doubt you should check with the course provider.

• Medicines Administration (Parenteral)

  This face to face course covers:
  

  • The skills required to administer products by both Intramuscular (IM) and Subcutaneous (SC) injection.
  • Training on the use of products which require reconstitution before use and those presented in ampoules and vials.

  Please find information on the Validity for Medicines Administration (Parenteral) Training Programme below.

• Responding to an Emergency and Management of Anaphylaxis

  This online course covers the provisions of the legislation which allows pharmacists to supply and administer medicines for the purpose of saving life or reducing severe distress in emergency situations and includes:
  

  • How to prepare the pharmacy team and premises for an emergency and respond to an emergency
  • Training on the management of anaphylaxis and administration of adrenaline auto-injectors to both adults and children.

  The certificate for this training programme remains valid for two years from the date of issue.

• Delivery of a Vaccination Service

  This online course covers how to prepare the pharmacy team and premises for the delivery of a vaccination service.
  

  
  

  The certificate for this training programme remains valid for two years from the date of issue.
  

  
  

  You must complete this course in order to supply and administer any of the vaccinations.

• Naloxone Injection
• Glucagon Injection
• Salbutamol Inhaler
• Glyceryl Trinitrate Spray
• Seasonal Influenza Vaccine
• Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine
• Herpes Zoster (Shingles) Vaccine

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• Diagram of Vaccines Training

  

• Diagram of Adrenaline Training

  Adrenaline (all routes of administration)

  
  

  
  

  Adrenaline (by Auto-Injector only)

  
  

  
  

• Diagram of Medicines Training

  Emergency Medicines: Glucagon Injection

  
  

  

  Emergency Medicines: Naloxone Injection, Salbutamol Inhaler, GTN Spray

  
  

What training do I have to do?

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• Adrenaline (auto injector)

  To administer adrenaline by auto injector only, in emergency situations, a pharmacist must complete the following training programmes:
  

  • CPR (adults and children) + Responding to an Emergency & Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA)

• Adrenaline (non-auto injector preparations)

  To administer adrenaline by injection other than by auto injector, in emergency situations, a pharmacist must complete the following training programmes:

  • CPR (adults and children), and
  • Responding to an Emergency and Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA), and
  • Medicines Administration (Parenteral) training programmes

• Naloxone injection

  To administer naloxone by injection in emergency situations, a pharmacist must complete the following training programmes:

  • CPR (adults and children), and
  • Responding to an Emergency and Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA), and
  • Naloxone Injection training programmes

• Glucagon injection

  To administer glucagon injection in emergency situations, a pharmacist must complete the following training programmes:

  • CPR (adults and children), and
  • Responding to an Emergency and Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA), and
  • Medicines Administration (Parenteral), and
  • Glucagon Injection training programmes

• Salbutamol inhaler

  To administer salbutamol inhaler in emergency situations, a pharmacist must complete the following training programmes:

  • CPR (adults and children), and
  • Responding to an Emergency and Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA), and
  •  Salbutamol inhaler training programmes

• Glyceryl Trinitrate (GTN) Spray

  To administer GTN spray in emergency situations, a pharmacist must complete the following training programmes:

  • CPR (adults and children), and
  • Responding to an Emergency and Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA), and
  • GTN Spray training programmes

• Seasonal Influenza Vaccination

  To administer Seasonal Influenza Vaccination, a pharmacist must complete the following training programmes:

  • CPR (adults and children), and
  • Responding to an Emergency & Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA), and
  • Medicines Administration (Parenteral), and
  • Delivery of a Vaccination Service, and
  • Seasonal Influenza Vaccine training programmes

• Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccination

  To administer Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccination, a pharmacist must complete the following training programmes:

  • CPR (adults and children), and
  • Responding to an Emergency and Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA), and
  • Medicines Administration (Parenteral), and
  • Delivery of a Vaccination Service, and
  • Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine training programmes

• Herpes Zoster (Shingles) Vaccination

  To administer Herpes Zoster Vaccination, a pharmacist must complete the following training programmes:

  • CPR (adults and children), and
  • Responding to an Emergency and Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA), and
  • Medicines Administration (Parenteral), and
  • Delivery of a Vaccination Service, and
  • Herpes Zoster (Shingles) vaccine training programmes

Validity of Training

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• Click here to view the validity of training for each module

  Training Module	Validity of Certificate
  CPR Adults and Children	As stated by training provider (usually two years)
  Medicines Administration (Parenteral)	Self-assessment (See below)
  Responding to an Emergency and Management of Anaphylaxis (RESMA)	Two years
  Delivery of a vaccination service	Two years
  Naloxone Injection	Two years
  Glucagon injection	Two years
  Salbutamol Inhaler	Two years
  Glyceryl Trinitrate Spray	Two years
  Seasonal Influenza	One influenza season
  Pneumococcal Polysaccharide	Two years
  Herpes Zoster	Two years

  Pharmacists are required to ensure that their training is up to date in order to deliver vaccination and/or emergency medicines services. Training must be repeated once the certificate has expired, irrespective of whether the pharmacist has experience of delivering the service in the past.

  Validity of Medicines Administration (Parenteral) Training Programme Certification:
  

  Pharmacists are asked to reflect, self-assess and to evaluate whether they need to refresh their training in this programme, in order to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge to safely deliver the associated medicines or vaccination service.

  The PSI requires that this training programme is repeated if a pharmacist wishes to administer;

  • a vaccine or emergency medicine via an injection route i.e. intramuscular or subcutaneous, which they have never previously administered, or

  • a vaccine or emergency medicine via an injection route which they have neither practised (i.e. administered to a patient) nor been trained in, in the previous 12 months (or in the case of seasonal influenza vaccination, in the previous flu season).

  Please note that ‘trained in’ refers to training in the Medicines Administration (Parenteral) Training Programme.
  

Experienced Vaccinator Training Requirements

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• Click here for the 2018/2019 training requirements

  Medicines Administration (Parenteral) Training Programme

  If you are a pharmacist who falls into the category of an experienced vaccinator, as stated above, and have administered the seasonal influenza vaccine each year, but have never undertaken the Medicines Administration (Parenteral) Training Programme, it is recommended that you reflect, self-assess and evaluate whether you need to refresh your skills and knowledge through this programme. Information on the training programme is accessible here.

  In circumstances where you have not vaccinated in the previous seasonal influenza season, you are required to complete this training programme. You are also required to complete this programme if you wish to administer a vaccine or an emergency medicine via an injection route, i.e. intramuscular or subcutaneous, which you have not previously administered, or have not administered via that route in the previous 12 months

  
  

  Other Training Programmes

  As an experienced vaccinator, you are required to review the training requirements for the vaccination or emergency medicine which you wish to administer.

  You are required to have valid certificates of training for all modules (with the exception of Medicines Administration (Parenteral) Training Programme if this applies; please read above).

  This may mean that you have to complete the following online training programmes for the first time:

  • Responding to an Emergency Situation and Management of Anaphylaxis
  • Delivery of a vaccination service

• Safe Supply and Administration of Prescription-Only Medicines in an Emergency
• Provision of Vaccination Services