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The Company Chemists’ Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison has urged NHS England (NHSE) to ensure the national booking service (NBS) “integrates effectively” with pharmacies’ booking systems before the national meningitis B vaccination programme starts next month.

In its service specification, NHSE said pharmacies must offer vaccination appointments through the NBS and ensure accurate information and appointment times are uploaded to it “in a timely way to allow patient bookings to take place”.

Pharmacies must register to provide the service by 11.59pm on July 20. However, if pharmacies want to start offering appointments on the NBS from the service’s start date of July 20, they must register by July 6.

NHSE also said pharmacies must ensure at least 100 appointments are listed each month and they should update their NHS website profile, NBS and Pharmacy Services Finder as soon as possible if they stop providing the service.

Pharmacies will vaccinate all year 13 students, people under the age of 25 starting university or residential further education for the first time and international students under 25 entering their first year of university.

Harrison (pictured) welcomed publication of NHSE’s service specification but warned the NBS and pharmacy booking systems must be integrated to ensure vaccines are delivered smoothly.

“Use of the national booking service ensures that patients have a consistent route to booking their vaccination appointments,” he said. “With the role of community pharmacy in vaccination programmes growing, it is now imperative that action is taken to ensure the NBS integrates effectively with pharmacies' own proprietary booking systems.

“This will reduce the possibility of missed or double booked appointments and also any unnecessary workload that comes from pharmacy teams having to manage two systems simultaneously.”

Each patient will receive two doses, the second one at least 28 days after the first one. Pharmacies will be paid £10.06 per vaccine administered and they will also be eligible for £300 once at least one vaccine has been administered and £400 if 100 or more are administered by March 31, 2027.

NHSE said it will provide pharmacies with vaccines from its centrally procured stock and about one 1 million people will be vaccinated as part of the service.

“The programme demonstrates the important role community pharmacies can play in delivering accessible vaccination services and protecting the public from serious diseases,” Harrison said.

“This service is another example of how community pharmacy can support wider NHS prevention and vaccination ambitions.”