A new falls prevention service has launched in community pharmacies in Doncaster. Commissioned by Doncaster clinical commissioning group (CCG) and funded by the Government, the service targets people aged over 65 who are taking three or more medicines. The scheme, which is thought to be the first of its kind, is based on NICE guidelines and, if successful, could be developed and rolled out across the country.

So far, 44 pharmacists from the borough’s 79 pharmacies have trained up to offer the service, which will run until the end of March. Doncaster Local Pharmaceutical Committee secretary Nick Hunter said: “We have been in dialogue with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee about what we have done and it is very interested. As far as I am aware, no other pharmacy service provides this. It’s not a complicated service for pharmacists to offer; the issue is whether it is a local priority.”