Pharmacy

If you enjoy science and are keen to help others, pharmacy could be for you. Medicines are the most common treatments offered to NHS patients. Pharmacists and their support staff play a vital role in helping improve the quality of people’s lives.

If you’re looking for a challenging career in healthcare that offers lots of job satisfaction, working in pharmacy may be the answer. As well as treating and caring for NHS patients, pharmacy is about using your skills and technical understanding to make a real difference to people’s quality of life.

Working in the phramacy profession requires a unique blend of technical knowledge and people skills. You need good communication skills to work with the public and patients in a clinical role and as part of a healthcare team.

Find out more about studying for a career in pharmacy by visiting our dedicated website at https://gmprimarycarecareers.org.uk/pharmacy.

Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and NHS Improvement, and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) have agreed a new Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework

The framework recognises the contribution that community pharmacy has committed to making towards the delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan. It also confirms community pharmacy’s future as an integral part of the NHS, delivering clinical services as a full partner in local primary care networks (PCNs).

The Stay Well Pharmacy campaign aims to encourage the public that community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are qualified healthcare professionals who are the right people to see if you need clinical advice or over the counter medicines to help safely manage a wide range of minor health concerns.

Utilising community pharmacy across Greater Manchester

In response to the 2014 national Improving care through community pharmacy call to action, the Greater Manchester Pharmacy Local Professional Network (LPN) engaged with healthcare professionals and the public to explore the best way to use what community pharmacy has to offer.

The network has revised its strategy in response and developed a six-point transformation plan that recognises how pharmacy can contribute to transforming health and social care services. With every local person visiting a pharmacy on average five times each year, there are real opportunities to deliver healthcare messages to the public directly.

Medicines-related problems contribute to demand for acute and emergency care, with around 6.5 per cent of hospital admissions associated with adverse drug reactions and significantly more resulting from exacerbations of conditions due to medicines not being used as recommended or sub-optimal prescribing. For example, 30% and 50% of people aged over 65 and 80 years respectively suffer a fall at least once a year and these episodes are often related to the medication that they are taking and/or symptoms of their long term condition. In a recent study, patients on four or more medicines bene ted from a reduction in risk of having a fall due to the intervention of a community pharmacist.

Pharmacists already help patients get the most from their treatment. Further joint working across health and social care will ensure that all patients on long-term medication have the chance to discuss their medication with a pharmacist and set their own targets.