This pilot service follows on from the Smoking Cessation Transfer of Care pilots and the introduction of the NHS Smoking Cessation Service (SCS) into the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF).
This pilot service will test a referral pathway from NHS maternity services to community pharmacy for expectant mothers and household members.
The Ante-natal team will determine the smoking status of all expectant mothers and household members. They will then offer evidence based smoking cessation support for 12 weeks including follow up after referral into the service.
This pilot service will allow NHS maternity trusts to refer individuals to a pharmacy of their choice so they can receive ongoing treatment, advice and support with their attempt to quit smoking. Associated household members also wishing to quit smoking may be identified at the referral stage or by the community pharmacy team.
This pilot service connects NHS maternity trusts with primary care by using the accessible network and skills available within the community pharmacies that have registered to deliver the service.
Aim of the Service
This pilot service aims to:
- test a digital referral mechanism between maternity services and community pharmacy
- understand how effective the service is within the hospital maternity service and the transfer of care process from maternity trusts (including midwife teams) to community pharmacy
- improve choice and create additional smoking cessation capacity in primary care for pregnant mothers and associated household members
- reduce morbidity and mortality from smoking and to reduce health inequalities associated with higher rates of smoking
The objective of the service is to ensure individuals referred by NHS maternity trusts to community pharmacy receive a consistent and effective offer, in line with NICE Guidelines NG209.
What the service will provide
This pilot service offers pregnant women and associated household members ongoing consultations. These consultations will include the:
- provision of behavioural support
- supply of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)
This service must be provided by an appropriately trained smoking cessation practitioner.
How individuals access the service
Individuals and associated household members who have been referred during their maternity care from an NHS maternity trust are eligible to receive advice and treatment under this service.
An electronic transfer of data to support the referral will be sent from the NHS maternity trust to a community pharmacy of the patient’s choice that is registered for this pilot service.
Pregnant women who wish to consult another healthcare provider for smoking cessation support when offered by the NHS maternity service, are still free to do so. Individuals being referred through this pathway have already agreed to be referred to community pharmacy.
Guidance on consultations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Contractors are requested to follow current guidance from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) from November 2020 and updated in January 2021, as on the NCSCT website, until the guidance changes.
Pharmacies providing this service will be expected to follow the guidance available from the NCSCT and CPPE on remote consultations.
Registration for this pilot service
Only those pharmacy contractors who have been invited to deliver this pilot service in the pilot area can register to provide this pilot service from 17 March 2022. The service is intended to start on 31 March 2022.
Register to provide the service
The pilot area can be defined as the catchment area for:
- NHS Nottingham University Hospital (NUH) – Maternity Services
Service level agreement and service specification
Maternity Smoking Cessation Service Specification and Service Level Agreement (Word: 177KB)