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The National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) Call Centre Application has two areas of functionality which are as follows:
Clinical Assessment. If a Caller has flu like symptoms the call centre agent can use the application to take them through a series of questions to result in a clinical assessment of their condition. The outcome may be authorisation of an antiviral or alternatively other care adive such as call 999, contact your GP etc
Manage URN. For a patient that has already been authorised for an antiviral this functionality allow the call agent to search for details of URN if they are lost plus check the status of a URN and also cancel an authorised antiviral before it has been dispensed
Ending the Call Mid-Assessment
Open this link to access the NPFS Call Centre Application www.nationalpandemicfluservice.nhs.uk/callcentre. It may be advisable to create a bookmark if you will access the application frequently.
At any time you can safely use the training system to become familiar with the functions of the live system. Any actions you take will not be reflected in the live system and you will have no impact on services or patients. training.nationalpandemicfluservice.nhs.uk/callcentre
Enter your unique Username and Password. These will be supplied by your Team Leader.
Your password must be changed at the first login. Full instructions are provided later in this guide.
Your account will be locked out after 3 unsuccessful login attempts. Your Team Leader will need to reset.
In order to discourage easy-to-guess passwords, the new password must either be a passphrase (preferred) or it should meet the following complexity requirements:
The password must be at least 10 characters long.
The password must contain at least one uppercase letter.
The password must contain at least one number.
The password must contain at least one special character (such as !,?,@,#,$,%,&,* and +)
A table showing a full list of special characters can be found at the following location:
You may have multiple roles available. Select the most appropriate role for the tasks that you need to complete.
Your Session - Confirms the username and role you are currently logged in as, as well as your login time and role once you have selected it.
Logout - Displayed on all screens, click here to logout of system
This screen allows the Call Centre Advisor to begin a clinical assessment for a Caller by selecting Start Now or alternatively aceees the Manage URN finctionality by selecting Manage URN
The Call Script & Hints (a.k.a. Grey Floaty Box) will appear on every screen from this point onwards. It has a number of important functions to help with the assessment process.
Three navigation buttons are provided allowing rapid movement through the assessment process.
Undoes the previous action and navigates back, allowing amendments to be made
Re-apply the previously undone function and move forward
Allows you to quickly end the assessment and return to the start, for example if the Caller no longer wants to continue
The individual functions are accessible by selecting the appropriate tab at the top of the box.
Scenarios and recommended responses are given to common issues here.
These phrases can be used to deal with some difficult enquiries
This will provide help and advice for each screen of the assessment process. Refer to this information if you need any help completing the information on individual screens.
Use this to record any important information that might need to be recorded outside of the normal assessment, e.g. if the Caller is abusive.
Callers answers are recorded here. This is updated with each answer selected on a page as you progress through the assessment.
Provides a quick reference to the phonetic alphabet. This is useful for spelling out and confirming words and the URN over the telephone.
You can provide feedback on the Pandemic Flu service at any time whilst on the portal, by clicking the ”Provide feedback on the Pandemic Flu service” link on the right of every page.
This is important, and will help us improve the service offered.
This can be used either for feedback from your own experience, or for the patient you are talking to, for example if the questions are unclear for them.
This will allow you to enter in the type of feedback, including a free text field to provide specific information.
You (or the patient if it is their feedback) can choose to be contacted about this feedback, or not.
If they choose to be contacted, the next page will ask for their name and contact details.
In addition to feedback there is a range of other supporting functionality which is available throughout any assessment these include:
Select the appropriate Calling Source from the drop down list.
Select Not applicable for an ordinary call. Most calls will be registered as an ordinary call, however the call may be a specified call type e.g. Language Line or British Sign Language.
Use Other - please specify for any other type of call, or a misdirected call, e.g. Caller wanted NHS111. It is mandatory to add a note of explanation before closing the call.
The Call Center Advisor should read the Terms of Use to the Caller. The Caller needs to agree to the Terms of Use before the assessment can continue.
Select Agree if the Caller provides confirmation that they agree with the Terms of Use and wish to proceed with the assessment.
If the Caller does not accept the Terms of Use select Disagree which will end the assessment. A further screen will be presented that needs to be read to the Caller confirming why they cannot proceed and offering them the option to restart.
The Caller needs to confirm which UK country the patient is located at the moment.
This is important as all countries may not be NPFS at the same time. The outcome of the clinical advice may also differ by UK country.
The Caller needs to confirm whether the patient is a UK resident or a foreign visitor.
For foreign visitots, following the clinical assessment questions you will be asked to gather further official patient identification information.
Record these details accurately and confirm back with the Caller.
You must check spellings to ensure accuracy using the phonetic alphabet where appropriate.
Introduce the first few questions with the phrase "I now need to find out some details about the Patient".
Gather these details accurately, filling out all the boxes on the screen and confirming back with the Caller.
Patient Details must be entered correctly for the patient to be able to collect Antivirals (if they are issued).
Remember - getting the date of birth right is really important for correct dosage calculation - a valid date must be input for you to be able to click 'continue'.
These questions must be read from the screen word-for-word after you have delivered the introduction. If the Caller struggles to understand, you may use the alternative wording provided in the guidance panel.
Whilst they are written as 2 whole (sets of) questions, pause after each sub-question to get a response.
If the Caller answers 'yes' to any of these questions, record the answer and move on, you will advise them to contact 999.
Click on 'Restart' to return to start screen ready for your next call.
If the Caller answers no to all of the 'emergency check' questions you will proceed to the next part of the assessment.
The Caller needs to confirm whether the patient has been abroard reecently and visited any country listed.
Recent Travel, if the Caller cannot answer this question without help use the ‘travel advice by country’ link to help.
If the Caller answers 'yes' to any of these questions, record the answer and move on, you will advise them to contact their GP and 999 if their condition deteriorates.
Click on 'Restart' to return to start screen ready for your next call.
If the Caller answers no to all of the ‘recent travel ‘ questions you will proceed to the next part of the assessment.
These questions must be read from the screen word-for-word.
If the Caller struggles to understand, you may use the alternative wording provided in the guidance panel.
If the Caller answers 'yes' to any of these questions, record the answer and move on, you will advise them to contact their GP Urgently for further assessment
Click on 'Restart' to return to start screen ready for your next call.
If the Caller answers no to all of the ‘clinical assessment’ questions you will proceed to the next part of the assessment.
Following the Emergency Check questions, you will gather further Patient identification information. Introduce these questions by saying: "I now need to find out some more details about the Patient."
Note: The Caller may not be the patient.
Recent Travel if the Caller cannot answer this question without help use the 'travel advice by country' link to help.
The First name, Surname and Postcode need to be gathered for the patient. The Gender and Date of Birth will be pre-populated with data entered previously
Gather these details accurately, filling out all the boxes on the screen and confirming back with the Caller. You must check spellings to ensure accuracy, using the phonetic alphabet where appropriate
The phonetic alphabet is available on every page in the grey floating panel on the right hand side
Patient Details must be entered correctly for the patient to be able to collect Antivirals (if they are issued).
If you make any errors in entering the information you must use the 'Undo' feature to return to the necessary page to correct the information while the Caller is still talking to you.
These questions must be read from the screen word-for-word. Use pauses to allow the Caller to think and respond. If the Caller struggles to understand, you may use the alternative wording provided in the grey floating panel on the right.
Allow the Caller time to respond to each question, do not click on a button until they have confirmed their answer to each question.
For the flu symptom question, pause to identify whether the Patient has a high temperature before moving on to read out symptoms.
For the questions that follow, if the Caller answers 'yes' to one part, record the answer and move on.
The Swabbing allows Public Health England to collect swabs from a sample of the infected population to provide data for analysis.
This page will only appear if the Caller has been assessed and they are going to be provided with an unique reference number for an anti-viral.
If the Caller agrees to participate in sample testing they must provide contact details including address and telephone number. Address can be input via postcode search or entered manually.
The address search will be prepopulated with the Postcode entered earlier in the assessment.This can be changed if required.
If the Find Address is selected another box will appear which will have a dropdown menu with all addresses that fall within the postcode entered. The correct address should be confirmed with the call and Confirm address selected.
If the address cannot be found the Callers address can be entered manually following the Enter address manually link and populating the following fields with information supplied by the Caller.
Follow the guidance in the grey floating panel on the right hand side.
Instead of reading the on-screen text at the beginning of the assessment summary, you should say: "This is the end of the assessment. Please listen to the information I am about to provide carefully and write down the key points."
Clinical Advice is higlighted and also has sidebars for emphasis. These sections should be read word-for-word - remember the Caller needs to be clear what they should do and when
Pause in between each paragraph to allow the Caller to take in the information and make notes
If and antiviral has been authorised read this section word-for-word
Provide authorisation number carefully, using phonetic alphabet for 'alpha' characters, ask Caller to repeat it back, checking each character - repeat process until they have it recorded correctly
If the patient says they don't have a flu friend, remind them it can be anyone (family member, friend, neighbour, work colleague, etc)
Make sure Caller is aware that ID is required for both the flu friend AND the patient in order to collect the antivirals. Accepted forms of identification are shown on the authorisation page
Additions forms of ID can be seen by selecting View others form of Identification.
When reading out items from the list, start at an appropriate place for the Caller, e.g. Passports for overseas visitors, and stop once they have indicated they have noted items they can access/produce
For assessments that result in a 'no antiviral' outcome, Agent scripting is as follows:
“Based on the answers provided, the Patient has not been recommended for an antiviral now.
Not all assessments will result in the provision of an antiviral. In this case, the Patient should follow the clinical advice I am going to read out to you.”
Here is an example from an assessment that reaches an end-point where an anti-viral has not been recommended. Depending on the assessment, other information may also appear to advise the Caller.
To help the Caller to identify a collection point that is convenient for them, select Show nearest collection points.
The Collection Point Finder will automatically search for the 5 nearest Collection Points based on the postcode provided for the assessment.
You can manually change the postcode / enter a new postcode / Town / County to locate a Collection Point that is convenient for the Caller / flu friend
The grey floating panel provides additional help / text if you are struggling to find a Collection Point local to the Caller
By clicking on the name of the Collection Point in the list, full details are provided for you to relay to the Caller.
There is also a direction link to googlemaps to assist in directing the Caller to the nearest collection point.
If a user ends the call, you should press the End Call button in the grey “floaty box”.
The next screen will allow you to choose a reason for ending call and exiting the assessment.
In addition to the drop-down list, there is a free-text field to enter supporting information.
Each Call Centre will have a different way of managing any escalation calls so please refer to local guidance.
Select Manage URN from the opening screen.
The Manage URN function can be used for a number of purposes:
You can find a URN in the system using either the URN itself, or by supplying a post code, date of birth and gender on the following screen.
All URNs matching the supplied search criteria are shown.
Note: It is possible and valid for multiple URNs with the same number to exist.
Ensure that the correct URN for the Caller is identified before proceeding.
To ensure that the corrct URN is selected the Caller should be asked to confirm the patients Name, Date of Birth and Postcode.
To cancel a URN, select the correct row in the table and select the Cancel URN button
The next screen will prompt you to provide a reason for cancellation. The option of “Other” will prompt you to enter details in a free text box.
You will then be prompted to Confirm the cancellation of this URN:
Clicking on Proceed will cancel the URN, providing confirmation that the URN has been cancelled.
Clicking Restart will return you to the main screen.
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