Flu season support to care homes - community pharmacies open

Please find below the full text and links of advice and guidance for care homes for Christmas and New Year 2025-26. 

Or download letter and listings from the section below.

Dear Care Home Manager

As we enter the winter period, we want to ensure you are fully supported particularly over the Christmas and New Year bank holidays should a flu outbreak occur in your care home. The BOB ICB has commissioned several pharmacies to hold stocks of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) to support timely treatment.

Reducing the Risk of Flu Outbreaks

Please review the following actions to help minimise the risk of influenza, COVID-19, and other respiratory viral infections in your home:

• Celebrate Christmas  safely  and encourage safe visiting practices.
• Ensure strong Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures are in place, including for hand washing, respiratory hygiene and enhanced cleaning.
• Check that all eligible residents have received their vaccinations for COVID-19, Flu, and RSV especially new admissions or those returning from hospital. Contact your GP practice if any vaccinations are outstanding.
• Continue to encourage staff vaccination uptake to protect both residents and colleagues.
• Please refer to the current guidance on combined COVID and Influenza rapid test kits (combo tests), including extensions to expiry dates and reporting requirements.

Bank Holiday Arrangements and Antiviral Access

This year, Christmas Day is on a Thursday, followed by Boxing Day and a weekend, meaning that no routine community pharmacy medicine deliveries are expected until Monday afternoon (29 December), and possibly not until Tuesday (30 December). BOB ICB Medicine optimisation team supporting flu will not be available on bank holidays and weekends. 

BOB-wide Christmas and New Year holiday Pharmacy opening hours 2025-26

• Download full pharmacy listing for Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire (xls format)

To ensure patients and care homes can access flu antivirals promptly, the BOB ICB has put in place the following support:

Commissioned Pharmacies

• There are 30 pharmacies commissioned under “BOB ICB – Guaranteed Provision of Urgent Medicines in the Community 22–25 scheme” to hold small quantities of Tamiflu. 
• Full list of commissioned pharmacies (pdf format)

Standard Stock Levels

• Tamiflu 75 mg: 10 boxes
• Tamiflu 30 mg: 10 boxes

Enhanced Stock Pharmacies

Of the above 30, 4 pharmacies hold additional stock:

• Tamiflu 75 mg: 40 boxes
• Tamiflu 30 mg: 20 boxes
• Tamiflu Liquid: 5 bottles