In Opinion

Follow this topic

Bookmark

Record learning outcomes

The NPA has made a range of resources available to help essential small pharmacies ensure their local communities know about the threat they face, says communications chief Stephen Fishwick

Funding via the Essential Small Pharmacy scheme ended on March 31, creating financial challenges for pharmacies in many neighbourhoods across England. The majority of essential small pharmacies are independents and therefore NPA members. In many cases, there is certainly a threat to viability and the loss to local communities would be significant.

Naturally, we are very concerned about the potential impact on our members and the patients they serve. We have offered our support to all affected pharmacies in NPA membership and made a range of resources available to them, including materials to mobilise the local community as advocates for the pharmacy if necessary. Our initial advice to affected members was to engage proactively with NHS England locally €“ not to assume that local NHS managers will prioritise the issue, or that they have all the facts available to make informed decisions.

In too many cases, unfortunately, it has indeed transpired that the local NHS has not been prepared to give this important matter the attention it deserves. In these instances, the next step might need to be a determined public campaign, mobilising the local community in support of the pharmacy €“ something to get the decision-makers sitting up and taking notice.

NPA resources to use in local campaigning include petitions, posters and template press releases. We would like to remind any NPA member in need of our support to email independentsvoice@npa.co.uk.

See also Opinion by Graham Phillips.

Saving lives

In a previous Pharmacy Magazine column, my colleague Leyla Hannbeck described the role of medication safety officer (MSO). Following changes to arrangements for the reporting of medication safety incidents in England, Leyla is acting as the MSO at the NPA for community pharmacies with fewer than 50 branches. In this role she helps promote safer use of medicines, improved recording and learning.

As one of the first steps, the NPA recently launched an online patient safety incident report form, which appears already to have contributed to an increasing number of pharmacies now reporting patient safety incidents. The form can be printed and kept by pharmacists for their own records, while the NPA passes the information anonymously to NHS England, which then inputs the data into the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS). 

While the MSO obligations relate to England, NPA members in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can access the full range of NPA patient safety resources at npa.co.uk/mso.