dearPHARMACISTMARCH

2016

ISSU

E2

dPinfo

dearPHARMACIST is a centralmarketing tool using social

media to help drive the publicinto your pharmacy for theirhealth & well-being needs

Up skilling our team is whatwill grow our profession, and

pharmacy. Free trainingmodules to enhance yourteams productivity byincreasing profit.

http://dear.cpdeasy.com

#ASKdP is a public facinghealth & lifestyle magazine thatwill let your community knowwhat pharmacy really offers.

A special thankyou to ...

Paul Lowndes &Fawz Farhan

(Mediapharm Ltd)

Samantha Bradley(rbforhealth.co.uk)

Carol Smillie(DIaryDoll)

Mike Keen (KentLPC)

Without the helpfrom you I couldn't

have got here

Soon we will all get hit by the government cuts to pharmacy funding. It's been estimated that each pharmacy would losean average of £15,000 in a year. Many of us are campaigning against #pharmacycuts.

However, most of us equate that loss of funding to a full time staff member. I've heard of pharmacy friends who have givenup their regular locum cover, and some withdrawing from recruiting new staff members simply to reduce costs. However, Idisagree with that knee jerk reaction and believe now is the time to really utilise your staff; and in fact grow your team innumber, as well as skills.

Why... You ask?

I worked out on a spreadsheet the number of services we delivered when we were short staffed recently due to long termstaff sickness. The number of services we delivered had dropped dramatically and this affected our profits. As soon as staffmembers were all in, we started delivering services again. On another occasion of being short staffed I observed that dueto the pressures of this, my team, and myself, spent less time per engagement with our patients and clients. This meant wedidn't up-sell our services through brief interventions or didn't recommended appropriate products, and when we didengage we struggled to deliver what we were offering.

Now, imagine a constant state of being short staffed. Which is what most of my colleagues will be if they reduce their staffnumbers. We may reduce our expenses through staff cuts, but equally we will reduce our services, and the quality ofadvice, that we aim to constantly deliver. This has a further knock-on effect of reducing our professionalism.

Do we really want that?

What we need to do in this breathing period of the proposed funding cuts, is to maximise outputs from each staff member.To encourage staff to up-skill and then use those skills to benefit your business, patients and our profession.

This needs 'buy in' from all of your pharmacy team. The only way to get this buy in, is to invest time to spend with themexplaining and pitching your vision of how you would like your pharmacy to be. What is your mission statement? Build onopportunities from these threats, and reinforce the strengths you, your team and your pharmacy has. A useful tool for up-skilling is available on http://dear.cpdeasy.com

I have worked on a formula to help us all ... #ASKdP ... Showing off what pharmacy can do!

Sunil K. Kochhar (Consultant Pharmacist for dearPHARMACIST.info)

I am asking thatpharmacies alert theircustomers to theseintended pharmacyclosures and whenspeaking to the MPs:

• Ask them to write toJeremy Hunt fordetails especially whatis planned after 2016/7

•Warn them they will geta placatory responsesupplied via the DHand don’t believe it

• Advise them to keep intouch with the AllParty ParliamentaryGroup on Pharmacywhich will be a usefulsource of advice andinformation for MPs.

This blow to the community pharmacy sectoris a mistake by Government and it is importantthat patients and patient associations areinvolved in drawing attention to the damagingeffect this cut will have on access to fullpharmaceutical services and patient safety. Itis predicted that a quarter of communitypharmacies could be forced to close andconcerns expressed about these plans include:

The Proposed Closure of Community Pharmacies.

The NHS Five Year Forward View was published byNHS England in October 2014 and included was aview of the role that pharmacies can play helpingpatients deal with common ailments. The documenthighlighted the need to improve integratedemergency care services and to move to apreventative approach to managing ill health.

However, this was followed by the recentlyannounced cuts to community pharmacypayments. The end of the consultation on this is onMarch 24th and will mark the announcement about2016/7 funding, but there will then be over a yearmore of opportunities to challenge Governmentassumptions including the use of robotics andcentralised prescription dispensing.

Is This a Typical Time inCommunity Pharmacy?

www.dearPHARMACIST.info #ASKdP PAGE 4

Mike Keen

Chief Executive OfficerKent LPC

We live in times of significant change in pharmacy and may well be askingourselves what is going on?

Government appears to be making conflicting statements and moves; they want to reducepressure on General Practice surgeries (some are now closing) and do something to help inthe face of a lack of GPs; community pharmacy and pharmacists can help fill that gap yetGovernment wants to close pharmacies. Other countries have realised and tackled thisproblem and use community pharmacists to prescribe. Here, where urgent and emergencycare is a problem, even talks about a common ailments service were stopped.

One could be tempted to think there is no Government strategic thinking and they make it up asthey go along. What to expect in the next month or two and in future years?

• The government's plans contradicts its stated ambition tocreate a clinically focused pharmacy service.

• The plans will damage patient care.

• These proposals undermine the community pharmacynetwork and reduce patient access to services; that willdisadvantage the sick and elderly.

• It ignores all evidence about pharmacy servicedevelopment. It is seeking to achieve cost savings bysplitting dispensing and pharmacy services. Pharmacies willclose, services will be lost and supply will be commoditised.

• The government's proposals are light on detail.

Pharmacy is a diverse profession and is highly unlikely to ignorepatient needs and go on strike. This creates a risk that apathy canreign and we all walk unimpeded into closure of pharmacies; thatcould well be the important local village pharmacy that providesessential and extra services to their clientele and is an added valuepart of the local community. The local pharmacy is more than justa place to get medicines. It provides a range of face to face NHSservices and professional advice without an appointment.Pharmacies are part of the fabric of local communities. Yet theyare under threat from Government plans for “efficiencies” thatoverlook the potential of the community pharmacy network.

Pharmacists in GP surgeries

In Kent Surrey and Sussex, excellent work is beingdone on this and a number of surgeries have createdroles for an in house pharmacist using Governmentmoney. It would be a mistake to see this as a possiblereplacement for the community pharmacy whichsees patients face to face and provides a wide rangeof services, some unfunded, based in the community.

Commissioning

Virgin has recently won its first major contract in Kentmanaging cottage hospitals on the North Kent Coast.This is a major contract and we may now see moreVirgin services in Kent.

Diabetes

There are over 2.6 million people with diabetes inEngland and it is growing challenge for the NHS. InWest Kent alone the current estimate is that 19000people or 4% of the population have diabetes. AcrossKent the figure is higher. During the year to March2015 in West Kent, 105 patients suffered ahypoglycaemic attack resulting in a visit to hospitaland some stayed in costing the NHS over £33500.

Currently a large amount of hospital patients areadmitted for a reason related to diabetes and manyfor emergency treatment after developinghypoglycaemia. More services and support needs tobe available in the community and communitypharmacies are well placed to deliver this.

Urgent and Emergency Care

This is a much debated subject and it appears thatcommissioners are having trouble recognising thebenefits of an urgent repeat medicines service anda common ailments service for the public. Coupledwith the intended closure of pharmacies this willalmost certainly result in patients arriving atdoctors’ surgeries and hospital accident andemergency departments for help in matters thatwere best dealt with in pharmacy. Commissionersneed to realise this and put in place schemes whilethere is still time.

Public health challenges

It is a sad fact that public health budgets have beencut back at the same time as the above threats havebeen delivered to pharmacy. This will seriouslydamage efforts to deliver more preventativehealthcare solutions as per the NHS Five YearForward Plan and result in even higher expenditurelater on, to deal with sick people. Public health is acrucial part of any health service and your localcommunity pharmacy helps provide accessible andprofessional expertise on the spot and wherenecessary, refer patients to appropriate colleaguepractitioners.

Overall

You may think that we are embattled on all fronts! However in these situations the biggest allies we have are thepublic who elect our Government and whereas when we say something it will be “they would wouldn’t they,” whenthe public shout they are heard because if not they may not vote in a particular local councilor or nationalGovernment at the next elections. Your local Healthwatch representative should be made aware of this risk to patientsand be able to help. #MK

Use stories from your teams on howpharmacy is crucial for your community;for their health & well-being. Examples are

on page 10 & 11 of #ASKdP

Write to your MP

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/116943

Make sure you, your team and yourpatients sign the on-line petition to

fight the reduced funding topharmacy

Get support from your patients#pharmacycuts

Get

Once you place your copies of #ASKdP onto yourpharmacy counters you'll be #ASKed several questions.Below is a guide to help you and your team answer any

questions from your patients & clients.

Key feature: You could bediabetic?

The public are now veryaware of type 2 diabetes.However, they don'trealise that a simpleHbA1c test from the

pharmacy can let themknow their diabetic status.

To set up this as a servicein your pharmacy; send

an email tosunil@dearpharmacist.info

You can help yourcommunity live longer by

training your staff todeliver this great service.

What's in#ASKdP?

www.dearPHARMACIST.info #ASKdP PAGE 6

Engage withpregnant women,those planning toget pregnant, and

new mums.

Carol Smillietalks aboutwhat to avoidin pregnancy

Pharmacy

Need help setting up private services? Bespokeservices set-up is available. Staff training,equipment & consumables, and clinic room setup. You'll be left ready to deliver! Quote "set-up"

(m) 07957 186708 (e) sunil@dearpharmacist.info

FREE training available foryou and your team.Register now on

http://dear.cpdeasy.com

www.cppe.ac.uk

Website: www.cppe.ac.uk Email: info@cppe.ac.uk Telephone: 0161 7784000

CPPE events, Kent area, April to September 2016

Sexual Health all day event (In collaboration with Kent Community Health Trust)This study day will cover emergency contraception, safeguarding and chlamydia to enableyou to meet the requirements for providing an emergency contraception service.

Venue; Trinity House, Ashford TN25 4AZDate; 2 April 2016Booking Reference; 44709Tutor; Laraine Clark

Polypharmacy focal point workshopTo help pharmacy teams to develop the confidence, competence and communication skillsto work in partnership with patients and other healthcare professionals to enable patientsto get the most from their multiple medicines and minimise medication related problems.

Venue; William Harvey Education Centre, Ashford, TN24 0LZDate; 21 April 2016Booking Reference; 44960Tutor; Laraine Clark

Venue; Holiday Inn Maidstone, Sevenoaks, TN15 7RSDate; 3 May 2016Booking Reference; 45005Tutor; Diar Fattah

TheLearningpharmacy.com workshopTheLearningpharmmacy.com is an interactive online learning environment for the wholepharmacy team. The aim of this workshop is to support pharmacy teams in identifyingopportunities to use theLearningpharmacy.com resource as a valuable teaching andlearning tool in the pharmacy.

Venue; Canterbury Christ Church University College, Canterbury CT1 1QUDate; 8 June 2016Booking Reference; 44955Tutor; Laraine Clark

Booking is essential for all events, via www.cppe.ac.uk or 0161 7784000Check the website for the latest listings, other learning programmes and news.

If you have any questions please get in touch with your local tutors;West Kent; Diar Fattah, diar.fattah@cppe.ac.ukEast Kent; Laraine Clark, laraine.clark@cppe.ac.uk

Regional manager for SE Coast; Sarah Ridgway Green, sarah.ridgwaygreen@cppe.ac.uk