How to become an HLP
If a pharmacy wishes to become an HLP, local agreement between commissioning organisations (the clinical commissioning group and/or local authority) and the local pharmaceutical committee is currently required. If an area is not yet implementing the HLP concept, then a pharmacy can choose to become HLP-ready by undertaking the following:
- Engaging the whole team in the concept and why it is important for the pharmacy to become an HLP within the community it serves
- Working with the team to review the Quality Criteria and establishing whether they meet the requirements and if they don't, implementing an action plan to get there
- Identifying individuals who want to become Health Champions and enrolling them on a training programme
- Undertaking HLP leadership development (more information on this is available from the NPA)
- Looking at the local joint strategic needs assessment (available on local authority websites) to understand local health needs and priorities
- Engaging with other health and social care providers to work together to support local health and wellbeing needs
- Delivering locally commissioned services excellently to demonstrate capability.
- Doing the above will help the pharmacy to deliver services more effectively and engage with the public proactively to improve their health. In time, as more areas become HLPenabled, the pharmacy will be more prepared for HLP accreditation.
Reflection exercises
€¢ Review your approach to health and wellbeing with individuals who come into your pharmacy. How proactive are you and your team in engaging the public on health and wellbeing issues?
€¢ Consider what attributes would make a great Health Champion. Could you or someone within your team take on this role?
Record your learning
Once you have read this article, use the following CPD questions to help you reflect on what you have learned and how it might affect your everyday work. Remember to record your learning on the GPhC website if you are registered (www.uptodate.org.uk). Otherwise, it is good practice to record it in your ongoing learning and development folder.
€¢ What did I learn that was new? (Evaluate)
€¢ How have I put this into practice? (Provide examples of how learning has been applied.) (Evaluate)
€¢ Do I need to learn anything else in this area? (Reflect)