Healthcare Quality Strategy For Scotland - NPA Responds

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 04 Dec 2009 - 2:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

The NPA has put forward recommendations for community pharmacy to be further integrated into the Scottish Government's plans for the NHS. Recommendations include: support for those with long term conditions, pharmacy provision of Keep Well Health Checks, access to care records, integration of medicines management, communication about patient discharge from hospital and the further development of the community pharmacy unscheduled care service.

Janice Oman, NPA Head of Pharmacy Services (Scotland) said: "Community pharmacy can contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of the population, improving the quality of service provision and providing services which are easily accessible to patients at times which suit them. However to make best use of this potential, pharmacy needs to be fully integrated into the primary care network, not least by having read and write access to patient care records including the emergency care summary. In addition patients need to be aware of the services pharmacy provides and the quality of the services. Many people are unaware of the training pharmacists have undertaken or their skills and expertise and may feel they are being provided with a cheaper inferior service. Social marketing can be very successful in achieving the promotion of pharmacy based services to the target population."

"The Scottish Government and Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) have developed a range of community pharmacy based services that are highly regarded across the UK, for example the Community Pharmacy Unscheduled Care Service. The further development of beacon community pharmacy based services will influence and potentially inspire developments elsewhere in the UK. The NPA would be pleased to meet with the team to discuss the potential contributions of community pharmacy to this quality agenda in Scotland."

Source
National Pharmacy Association

• Additional
• References
• Citations