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There were, as always, a huge variety of talks to choose from at the Pharmacy Show. Spread across nine theatres, a host of speakers and endless subject material, the TM team had a difficult time choosing which to attend. Over the two days of the Pharmacy Show in Birmingham, we listened to over a dozen talks, and here is the lowdown…
Covid-19 update
Sunday’s itinerary kicked off with Gareth Jones, director of External and Corporate Affairs, National Pharmacy Association (NPA), getting us thinking back to the pandemic. His Covid-19 inquiry – lessons for the next pandemic talk provided an idea of where pharmacy lies within the National Covid-19 inquiry. He emphasised the crucial role that pharmacies played during the pandemic, which “kept the health system functioning” as many GP surgeries closed their doors. Pharmacy teams worked every day on the frontline to support the health and wellbeing of their communities. The NPA’s desired outcome from the inquiry would be “for community pharmacy to be recognised in the wider healthcare system, as a key asset within the NHS that needs to be protected and funded”, Gareth concluded.
Involvement in private services
At the Clinical Theatre, Deborah Evans, pharmacist and managing director of Remedi Health, an award-winning pharmacy in Winchester, walked the audience through The ins and outs of how to run a successful menopause clinic. Deborah reminded us that “51 per cent of the population will go through menopause” but “only 20 per cent of women will get hormone replacement therapy (HRT)”. This is worrying, given that HRT is the gold standard for menopause management. Deborah, also an independent prescriber, and her team assess clients through face-to-face consultations to cover current physical, emotional and mental health status supported by a menopause symptom questionnaire, after which a treatment plan is recommended. Deborah noted how within the service there is large scope for pharmacy support staff to play a role, whether that is through training to provide phlebotomy services, promotion of the service online and in-store or identifying eligible clients within the pharmacy.
Upskilling the whole team
At the Professional Development Theatre, Victoria DiMartino, training programme director at Pharmacy Workforce Development South (PWDS), spoke of how “pharmacy support staff now play a more critical role as healthcare needs evolve”, making it an important time to bolster the whole pharmacy workforce. She encouraged the training of more pharmacy support staff to become accuracy checkers, as “accuracy checking enhances efficiency in dispensary and ward settings” and “increased capacity allows pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to focus on clinical tasks and direct patient care”. She also emphasised that if members of the team do elect to take on the training, pharmacists and pharmacy managers “need to ensure appropriate training and mentoring is in place to support this role”. Victoria ended by reminding the audience that “pharmacy support staff play a vital role in improving the efficiency and quality of pharmacy services” and that training and mentoring will lead to maximising the potential of the whole pharmacy workforce.
Important legislation changes
In June 2024, legislation announced that pharmacy technicians would now be able to supply and administer medicines under patient group directions (PGDs). Nicola Stockmann, APTUK president, and Ade Williams MBE, superintendent pharmacist and clinical lead at Bedminster Pharmacy in Bristol, spoke about what this means in practice for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians alike. The legislation is yet another indicator of how the scope for the pharmacy technician profession is constantly expanding Nicola said, commenting that this is “a real landmark moment for pharmacy technicians”. Pharmacy technicians having more responsibility will cause a positive ripple effect throughout the pharmacy team. “Us being able to do more has got to be a good thing,” Nicola remarked. It means there is a greater opportunity for whoever comes into the pharmacy to receive care, and further establishes pharmacy at the forefront of health care and services. Ade commented on how support and mentoring will be crucial in “getting this right, in a way that esteems the profession” and that an inclusive culture of value and respect will encourage team members both to upskill themselves and remain in the pharmacy.
Self care front and centre
We saw more of Ade at the Clinical Theatre where he was joined by Trevor Gore, associate director of the Institute for Collaborative Working, and global healthcare training manager at Reckitt Benckiser. The pair, who are both trustees of the Self Care Forum, spoke about the perfect positioning of pharmacy to champion self care to shift the public’s perspective. “Self care doesn’t mean no care,” Trevor began. Many people are still uninterested in self care, or believe in self care myths, like if you go outside with your hair wet, you may get sick. Pharmacy teams’ mission must be to make the public aware of the healthcare advice they can offer. “If people don’t know what pharmacies can do for people, they will never cross that threshold.” The talk echoed the current thinking on emphasising self care as a cornerstone of the healthcare system, which has the potential to save millions of pounds and time spent unnecessarily by visiting GPs or A&E for conditions that can be managed with over-the-counter treatment and advice from the pharmacy. The number of people attending a pharmacy as a first port of call has dropped from 69 per cent of UK adults in 2022 to 52 per cent in 2023. “People are not coming to the pharmacy as much as they used to,” Trevor said. “We need to give people the motivation to come.” Ade went on to discuss how the sector should let evidence behind self care “speak for us” and both encouraged audience members to get involved in Self Care Week 2024 in November.
OTC medicines in the spotlight
A change to a stronger focus on over-the-counter medicines was described as a big opportunity by Anna Maxwell, CEO of Maxwellia. Finding a growth in OTC provision by pharmacies more profitable, by reducing the dependency on prescriptions and NHS medicines. This too, supports the growing self care narrative. Connecting with patients over a wider OTC offering can be both empowering for pharmacy and patient. “The demand is there”, she cites with three out of four adults wanting more medicines available from pharmacies and 80 per cent of adults preferring to manage their own minor health concerns.
Awaiting a return to reclassification
On Monday, OTC medicines were back in the spotlight as the morning was kicked off with a reclassification discussion by Michelle Riddalls, CEO at the PAGB, the consumer healthcare association at the Keynote Theatre. It was most interesting to be reminded that many of the medicines we routinely reach for were once prescription only, like ibuprofen, which was reclassified as a pharmacy medicine in 1983. She reiterated how reclassifying medicines supports self care “by helping people treat their conditions on their own”. It also means that people will have wider access to care that is convenient and accessible, giving them autonomy and choice as they are able to discuss their options with the pharmacy team. “Over-the-counter products allow people to stay at work, avoiding £164 million in lost workdays and £18 million in lost wages,” she said. The PAGB are eagerly awaiting the new Labour Government to pick up on reclassification progress that was put on hold when the general election was announced.
Career paths: Thinking outside the box
At the Professional Development and Careers Theatre, Maria Nasim, chief pharmaceutical officer’s clinical fellow, UKHSA and Amna Khan-Patel, chief pharmaceutical officer’s clinical fellow 2023/24, NHS England, delivered an inspiring call to pharmacy team members to “aim higher and push themselves out of their comfort zones”. Both reminded the audience that a career path in the pharmacy does not have to be linear, especially given the number of fellowships, learning opportunities and mentoring available – and many of these fellowships, they mentioned, are free. “There is a massive burnout in our profession. Coaching and mentoring can be a solution to this”, Maria ended, and encouraged people to seek out a mentor or, if in the position, to become a mentor.
See the bottom of this article for more on where to find these fellowships and programmes.
Sustainability underpins daily practice
In a brilliant talk from Katherine Watkinson, head of Medicines Optimisation and Pharmacy at Turning Point, attendees at the Pharmacy Technician Theatre listened to the impact sustainable (and unsustainable) pharmacy habits have on the environment. “Every individual in pharmacy should be aware of sustainability,” Katherine began. “It needs to underpin our daily practice.” For many of us, the impacts of sustainability may seem out of sight and out of mind, but they are much more apparent than you think, and have especially direct consequences on the healthcare system and public health. And, Katherine empathised, some issues do seem out of reach when you look at them from afar, like rising temperature or increasing prevalence of hurricanes – “but I don’t think that should stop us”. From how medicines are transported, to how they are packaged, to whether they are liquid or solid are all aspects which can be made more sustainable and lessen the environmental impact of the healthcare industry.
Enabling pharmacy reforms
In one of the final talks of the day, Liz Fidler, senior professional lead, Pharmacy Technician Practice, NHSE, discussed pharmacy technician professional practices and enabling pharmacy reforms. Liz reaffirmed NHSE’s supportive position of the Pharmacy Technician Workforce Development for 2024, saying that “we are starting to see the policy, services and education come together to make a career in community pharmacy desirable”. The NHS workforce plan aims to develop pharmacy technicians to practice autonomously as competent and confident healthcare professionals, and that the NHS has commissioned training for community pharmacy support staff to advance on their roles through CPPE and accuracy checking pharmacy technician programs. “By next year, we want to see more pharmacy technicians practicing in community pharmacy.”
Liz was also joined on stage by Claire Dearden chief pharmaceutical officer’s and specialist pharmacy service national pharmacy technician fellow at NHS England, who described her colourful and impressive career so far as a pharmacy technician. Her extensive knowledge and experience collected throughout her inspiring journey really highlighted the scope and variety out there for the ever-growing role of pharmacy technicians.
Read more about the key themes mentioned in this article in our Five Takeaways from the Pharmacy Show in the November issue of Training Matters (TM) – available online soon.
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