Bustling community hub A.R. Pharmacy is building on its proud 30-year heritage by entering into a new era as a healthy living pharmacy.

A.R. Pharmacy became one of the first practices in Southampton to be recognised as a healthy living pharmacy last year.

Pharmacy managers and husband and wife, James Tibbs and Shikha Rishi, had been interested in the HLP initiative since it began in Portsmouth in 2010 and jumped at the chance to get involved when Hampshire was named as a pathfinder site. They saw it as an excellent way of developing the family-run business, which Shikha’s father built from scratch 30 years ago.

“I saw the HLP project as a way of formalising the things most of us already do, so that we could deliver services in a more structured way,” says James.

Fab four

While most HLPs appoint one or two members of staff as healthy living champions (HLCs), four team members at A.R. Pharmacy have gained the qualification, with plans for the whole team to eventually undergo the training.

James believes that “getting the staff training right” is key to the success of any HLP and advises other pharmacies embarking on the project to do the same. “Your healthcare assistants are the faces of the pharmacy. Unless you empower them with the knowledge, they will not be able to perform to the best of their abilities or represent your business as it should be represented.”

James even undertook the HLC training himself in order to get himself into the right mindset for promoting public health and self-care.

“It is an extremely valuable area of training and worthwhile for everyone,” he says. “Following the HLC training, the staff have become the forerunners in maintaining and developing our HLP status and there is definitely more enthusiasm and excitement around their work.”

Growing services

Since embarking on the HLP initiative, A.R. Pharmacy has established one of the most successful smoking cessation services in Hampshire; introduced a comprehensive sexual health package, including EHC supply, chlamydia screening and treatment, and condom distribution, as well as developing a seasonal flu vaccination programme, providing both private and NHS jabs.

Building on this momentum, James and Shikha have introduced a range of private services via a total of 19 different patient group directions. These include the stop-smoking drug Champix; a hair retention clinic; treatment for erectile dysfunction; a weight management service; a health MOT including BP, BMI, cholesterol and diabetes testing; and a full travel health clinic complete with vaccinations. Progress has not stopped there, however, with a NHS-commissioned COPD screening and management service starting soon.

The new HLP status and expanded service range has raised A.R. Pharmacy’s profile in the local community, which has in turn boosted footfall and income. During its first year as an HLP, the pharmacy’s prescription volume increased by 5 per cent on top of existing growth, while its over-the-counter sales rose by 6 per cent and service income increased five-fold.

To free up time for enhanced services provision while keeping the core dispensing business strong, the pharmacy has invested in a state-of-the art dispensing robot, as well as making full use of accuracy checking technicians.

Well connected

Gaining HLP status, combined with changing perceptions of pharmacy generally, has helped A.R. Pharmacy to forge new, strong links with other local healthcare professionals which, in some cases, has led to the development of innovative services and unexpected income streams. For example, the pharmacy developed a partnership with a hearing check company, which has led to the introduction of an audiologist-led hearing check service with the provision of NHS hearing aids.

“I think in previous years it has been quite difficult to engage with other healthcare professionals as we were seen, rightly or wrongly, as purely an intermediary supplier of medication to the public,” says James.

He believes that having the backing of local GPs is particularly beneficial. Since joining A.R. Pharmacy two years ago, James has striven to build a rapport with his GP colleagues and now attends regular meetings with all the local surgeries. He also works alongside a GP to provide monthly clinical reviews of patient medication for a care home.

“Pop in to see GPs regularly, so that it feels natural rather than a chore and be prepared by reading the GP contract and researching local priorities,” he advises. “For example, go armed with your stop smoking results and explain how they could help GPs achieve their targets and add to their QOF points.”

A.R. Pharmacy also actively engages with their community. Members of the team have worked with local groups to deliver brief health interventions to gypsy and traveller communities and offered advice on sexual health, smoking and alcohol at local schools and colleges.

James believes that work like this is important because “we can’t just rely on the big organisations to promote pharmacy; we have to take responsibility and get ourselves known locally”.

Holistic view

The HLP concept fits in with James’s view of the pharmacy as a health and wellbeing centre, which looks at patients’ needs holistically. To illustrate this point, he cites an example of a patient newly diagnosed with COPD who presented in the pharmacy with a prescription for a new medicine.

Through carrying out a NMS consultation, James discovered that the patient was overweight and a smoker, so enrolled him on the pharmacy’s smoking cessation and weight management programmes, which led to him quitting smoking and losing a stone- and-a-half in weight.

In addition, thanks to the money saved from junk food and cigarettes, the patient is planning a trip abroad, for which A.R. Pharmacy is providing the vaccinations.

Additional rooms

In keeping with the focus on wellbeing, the pharmacy has introduced a ‘healthy living zone’ to promote its services and provide self-care advice, while plans are underway to install additional consultation rooms offering services from other healthcare professionals, such as chiropractors and chiropodists.

The pharmacy is also supporting the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends campaign, and one HLC has trained as a dementia adviser through Dementia UK.

“Pharmacy is not just about dispensing medication any more – we need to diversify. I think the key to our future survival is thinking of the patient from a holistic view- point and using innovative services to enhance their lives,” says James. “The HLP programme assists because it gives you standards to work towards and a framework with which to critically evaluate your services.”