Services Database Carer-Friendly Pharmacy – Pilot (9 LPC Areas Involved)

Please note this service was piloted across nine LPC areas. Therefore, the following LPCs had the same service in their areas:

• Community Pharmacy Humber;
• Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire;
• Devon LPC;
• East Sussex LPC;
• Gateshead and South Tyneside LPC;
• Greater Manchester LPC (Bury & Rochdale area);
• Kent LPC;
• Lancashire LPC; and
• Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes LPC.

The service has only been added onto the Services Database under this entry to avoid duplication.

Documents for this service can be found on the Support for carers – how community pharmacy teams can help page of the Community Pharmacy England website.

The Carer-Friendly pharmacy pilot, led by Carers Trust and Community Pharmacy England, is part of a programme of work funded by the DH and forms part of the ‘Supporting Carers in General Practice Programme’ involving Carers Trust, the RCGP and Carers UK.

A total of 44 pharmacies were involved across nine Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPCs) areas.

The aim of the project was to increase the identification and support of unpaid carers within primary care and community settings so that carers receive support before they reach crisis point. The project tested the concept of a ‘Carer-Friendly Pharmacy’, which pharmacies participating in the project will seek to become.

A Carer Friendly Pharmacy is one where:

1. all staff are trained to be carer aware, sensitive to carers’ needs and the challenges they face and have developed enhanced communication skills to enable them to engage effectively with carers;
2. all staff are pro-active in identifying, referring and supporting carers;
3. the pharmacy identifies a member of the team who takes on the role of Carers Champion along with a deputy – their role is to lead and facilitate carer referrals, act as a contact point for external agencies such as the local carers centre and GP practices to support a multi-disciplinary approach and to maintain stocks of resources;
4. posters and/or related materials make it clear to the customer that the pharmacy is carer-friendly and encourage them to self-identify; NB. It is acknowledged that displaying materials will be easier in larger pharmacies and Healthy Living Pharmacies where there is a dedicated notice board to display such information;
5. the pharmacy offers a range of services, such as Medicines Use Reviews (MURs) and prescription collection and delivery, in a manner that is relevant to the carer; and
6. with the carer’s consent, the pharmacy will refer the carer to their local carers services and/or their GP. In the pilot the PharmOutcomes system is being used to make these referrals and capture information on the referrals to allow evaluation of the service.

The core model may, in some localities, be augmented by add-ons such as pharmacy delivery driver engagement with carers, pharmacy-based carers’ health checks and free flu vaccinations for carers where the pharmacy has been commissioned to do so.

A training package for pharmacy staff involved in this project was developed in partnership between Carers Trust and the Centre for Postgraduate Pharmacy Education (CPPE). This was delivered by the local carers service and focused on awareness of the issues facing carers, as well as strategies for identifying and talking to them.