At this time of year, customers begin to suffer from coughs, colds and flu and they may want to visit their GP in the expectation of getting a prescription for antibiotics. Antibiotics are effective, useful drugs when they are taken in appropriate circumstances. They treat bacterial illnesses, but they do not work for cough and cold viruses.

This is important because overuse of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance, and the proportion of people with coughs and colds being prescribed antibiotics is still increasing. The pharmacy team has a vital role in helping to protect these valuable drugs from misuse. There are a range of simple, practical things that customers can do to help prevent the transmission of colds and flu and to help themselves get better quickly.

In this month’s Team Tuesday, through some team activities, you’ll find some new ideas for helping customers. Make sure your pharmacy is the one that customers want to visit when they’re feeling under the weather with a cold or a cough. Encourage customers with coughs and colds to come to your pharmacy.

Get to know the ‘Red Flag’ symptoms that mean customers must be referred to the pharmacist and will likely need to go to a GP. Plus, education of the customer is key. European Antibiotic Awareness Day this year is on 18 November. Could you use this day as a focus to promote appropriate use of antibiotics in the pharmacy?

Those who are leading the training will find accompanying learning prompts and teaching notes here.