Changing providers is a big step. We answer your frequently asked questions below, so that you can make the choice which is right for you.
Shine Health Direct is available to any Shine members over two years old who use continence products (such as catheters, appliances for bowel washouts or stoma management). The services provides discreet and efficient delivery of continence products as well as prescription medications.
Signing up to Shine Health Direct is simple - you can apply online here. All you have to do is tell Shine Health Direct what you need and we will do the rest, including contacting your GP.
Shine Health Direct supplies a very wide range of products and is completely independent of all the manufacturers. The choice of products used is down to you and your clinician. You can continue to use your existing products when you join and Shine Health Direct will not try to change any of your products.
There is also a range of complimentary items available to Shine Health Direct customers
Yes. Shine Health Direct supplies complimentary bags and wipes as part of their terms of service with NHS England. Additionally, a further range of complimentary items from hand sanitisers to mattress protectors, mirrors to radar keys are supplied, appropriate to members’ prescription needs - View the full range of complimentary items here.
Please note: Complimentary items can only be supplied with prescription items, not alone.
Yes. There are two options:
Get both your urology/stoma products and medication delivered at the same time by Shine Health Direct.
Get just your products delivered by Shine Health Direct and continue getting your medication from your local pharmacy.
No. The costs to the NHS are broadly the same.
The cost of both products and medication are set by the NHS and are the same for Shine Health Direct as all other home delivery companies and pharmacies.
Shine Health Direct (and other home delivery companies) receives an infrastructure payment from the NHS whereas a local pharmacy receives two structured establishment and practice payments plus additional payments which home delivery companies are unable to claim.
Yes. Shine’s database retains all membership information. Your data is only used by Bullen Healthcare if you say that you want to use the Shine Health Direct service. You can read more about how Shine looks after your personal data in our Privacy Policy [link].
The dedicated Shine Health Direct telephone number is 0800 023 8857. This number is always staffed between 9am and 5.30pm. You can also email info@shinehealthdirect.org
Whilst Shine Health Direct strives to offer a very high level of service, sometimes things can go wrong. Shine Health Direct takes these issues very seriously and encourages anyone experiencing a problem to firstly contact their Shine Health Direct Personal Advisor. If the problem is not resolved to your satisfaction, please contact customerservice@shinehealthdirect.org
If you want to raise an issue directly with Shine, contact 01733 555988.
You don't have to be a member of Shine to register for the home delivery service, but when registering, you will automatically be enrolled as a Shine member, giving you access to a host of other benefits and support.
Shine uses the income to help fund its services for people with Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus in the UK such as Support & Development work. You can read more about our plans in Shine’s Corporate Plan 2017 – 2022.
Every Shine Health Direct delivery includes details of how to raise customer service issues. Bullen Healthcare provides quarterly service reports to Shine.
All enquiries made directly to Shine are logged and followed up by our services admin team, progress is then monitored by Shine’s Senior Management Team through regular contact with Bullen Healthcare.
NHS England and The NHS Pharmaceutical Regulations 2013 are responsible for regulating and controlling Shine Health Direct, all other home delivery companies, all pharmacies and dispensing doctors.
Shine Health Direct is the largest dedicated home delivery service for people with Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus in the UK. By the end of March 2019 over 1,100 people with Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus have registered to join Shine Health Direct since it launched in April 2015. From April 2018 to March 2019 we dispensed 86,448 individual stoma / urology items to Shine Health Direct members.
Shine Health Direct seeks to ensure that we have an adequate supply of products to meet members’ requirements. We order from manufacturers on a daily basis; we order based on historic stock usage; we stock over 8,000 product lines and we hold up to anything from five days’ worth of stock to three months’ worth of stock. There are times, however, where a product manufacturer can have an issue with the supply of their products and this can impact on Shine Health Direct members’ orders. Also some products are only used by a small cohort of members and occasionally some members might request a higher than normal level of products. This can leave us short of that product for a brief period of time whilst we restock.
Some local health authorities have now stopped third party providers (like Shine Health Direct) from requesting prescriptions on behalf of their customers. This means that anyone living in those areas now has to request their own prescriptions from either their GP or local continence service.
The great news though is that they can still take advantage of the many benefits from being a member of Shine Health Direct including a named personal advisor, the supply of all makes and manufacturers, products and medication delivered in the same order and a comprehensive range of complimentary items.
The only difference is that once we’ve spoken to them on their monthly “well-being and stock check in” we will then also provide them with the relevant information and prompt them to make sure that they request their prescription from either the GP or local continence service.