Joanne Taylor reflects on the roll out of the “Think Pharmacy” scheme for minor ailments in her local area

The Think Pharmacy scheme for minor ailments is being rolled out in our local area by the CCG. And the teams at Vittoria Healthcare Ltd are looking forward to engaging with this service and being at the heart of local communities. The overall aim of the service is to reroute patients with specific minor ailments from general practice and other urgent care settings, such as A&E and out of hours, into community pharmacy, where the patient can be treated in one single visit.

This means that more patients will be able to access medicines from the NHS without needing an appointment with a GP or going to A&E to get a prescription, which is good for both the NHS and patients. In our pharmacies, we have been looking at the two levels of service provision and how these could work. The level one service involves a patient assessment and advice followed by supply of a P or GSL medicine or appliance for patients with the conditions on the approved list.

The level two service involves patient assessment, advice and supply of a POM, according to the criteria specified in the relevant PGD. This is followed by communication with the patient’s GP (with patient consent) to alert the GP of any treatment given. Although the service can only be delivered by a pharmacist, it cannot happen without the support and involvement of the whole team.

It is also a good opportunity for all staff to review their own patient counselling skills, as patients often discuss their concerns with a medicines counter assistant who then refers them to the pharmacist, as necessary. Registered pharmacy technicians, although unable to deliver the service directly, are still able to support the pharmacist in a very positive way by completing the appropriate courses available from CPPE and WCPPE, and taking part in the same local training events as the pharmacists. This means that the pharmacist will feel confident to take the service forward, while empowering the whole team in the process.

 

Joanne is a registered pharmacy technician and ACPT, and is professional standards lead at Vittoria Healthcare. She is national secretary for the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), and is a member of the Medicines Rebalancing Programme Board at the Department of Health as well as TM’s editorial advisory panel.