Thursday 24 July 2014

We are aware of problems surrounding the drug delivery services provided by Healthcare at Home Ltd (HaH). We are very sorry if you have experienced these difficulties. Overall a relatively small number of patients living with HIV have been affected; but if you have concerns about your medication supply please contact your local clinic.

What action can I take to minimise the impact of any potential issues?

• It is important that you do not miss any doses of your treatment, so ensure you maintain an additional one month supply of your medication at home to allow extra time for delivery.
• Ensure you have up-to-date contact details for both your clinic & HaH in the event that you need information about or help with receiving your delivery.
• Ensure that both your clinic and Healthcare at Home Ltd have your correct contact details.

What should I do if I experience any problems?

• If you require an additional supply of medication so you do not run out; please contact your HIV Pharmacist or clinic.
• If you do experience any problems please let HaH know as early as possible so that they have the maximum amount of time available to resolve your concerns.
• If your delivery only contains a partial supply of medication, or you have not received medication you were expecting, or your delivery does not match what you think your prescription was for; then please contact your clinic or pharmacist for advice. In the majority of cases it will be because there is a supply issue with your medication and not due to a change in therapy.

How do I get in touch with Healthcare at Home Ltd?

• HaH HIV customer services are open Monday to Friday between 8am to 6pm and contact details are:
  - 0800 783 0211 free-phone from landlines only. Mobile rates vary
  - 0333 103 9857 landline rates including from mobiles & included in free minutes tariff allowances
  - www.hahsupport.co.uk patient support website

What is being done to resolve this at a clinic / pharmacy level?

• Supply issues for specific patients are being managed on an individual basis; including liaising directly with Healthcare at Home Ltd on behalf of the patient.
• Where possible, new patients are no longer being registered onto the homecare service with HaH. This will enable them to manage their capacity and focus on existing patients.
• Any complaints received by Pharmacy are being followed up with HaH. In London these are being reviewed on a regional level to monitor for trends, enabling more focused follow up of any highlighted concerns.

What is being done at a national NHS level?

• HaH is working closely with the NHS Commercial Medicines Unit (CMU) and the National Homecare Medicines Committee (NHMC) to resolve the issues across all therapy areas. HIVPA members are a part of these working groups tasked with overseeing and assisting HaH manage their response to the problems.
• In April 2014 there was a General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) inspection of HaH with support from the Medicines Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA), NHS England and Care Quality Commission (CQC) and a number of detailed findings were made. The investigation found that the dispensing process and associated pharmacy activities were operating safely. However it highlighted that improvements were required in complaints and risk management; communication with patients and the NHS and in contingency planning. The company will have a follow up inspection from the GPhC in July to identify whether the necessary improvements have been made.