Services Database Community Pharmacy Healthy Weight Service (Portsmouth City Area)

All community pharmacies located in Portsmouth City boundaries are invited to participate in this service provided they :

• are a Healthy Living Pharmacy; and/or
• are a participant in the Health Checks Programme; and/or
• have achieved 12 successful 4-week quits through the stop smoking programme in the previous financial year; and
• have completed the necessary training standards.

The service comprises of several levels of activity:

• Offering a service to weigh and measure clients who are concerned about their weight and to provide brief advice about healthy eating.
• Effective signposting of individuals to a service that suits their particular need, including referral to specialist service
• Working with clients who are eligible for the service and who are committed to making changes to achieve a healthier lifestyle by providing regular 1:1 counselling service.
• Providing ongoing opportunistic support for clients who have completed the programme.

All staff providing 1:1 counselling must be accredited Healthy Weight Advisers. The preferred route of accreditation is to attend the two day training session delivered by Portsmouth Hospital Dieticians and 2 day training on behaviour change techniques.

Pharmacy teams must have necessary knowledge to give brief advice; to support health weight assessment and recruitment and to provide contingency cover for unplanned absence of pharmacy advisers.