Thursday 28th August 2024

Due to popular demand, we at Community Pharmacy Devon have decided to review our communications and bring you a weekly digest that will provide a brief overview of weekly activity.

As always, if you have any feedback or comments, please contact us by email at admin@cpdevon.org.uk.

This is the second of a series of articles to tackle some of the misconceptions around Pharmacy First. The articles will cover a variety of aspects of Pharmacy First and aims to myth bust, to increase understanding of the service.

An 18 year old is eligible for an acute otitis media clinical pathway consultation.

Wrong! The clinical pathway for acute otitis media pathway states that this is for children aged 1 to 17 years. Therefore anyone 18 years and above is excluded from the clinical pathway.

Distance selling pharmacies can provide acute otitis media clinical pathway consultations.

Wrong! Distance selling pharmacies (DSPs) are excluded from providing the acute otitis media clinical pathway as it requires otoscope examination of the patient’s ear and DSPs can only provide clinical pathways consultations via a good quality video consultation (not face-to-face) conducted by a pharmacist who is at the pharmacy premises.

I can choose the appropriate quantity to supply to a patient when providing them with a medicine under a clinical pathway consultation.

Wrong! The Patient Group Direction (PGD) for the medicine that is being supplied states the dosing instructions and duration of treatment. Therefore, pharmacists should consult the relevant PGD to calculate the amount of medicine that should be supplied.

Patients who are electronically referred but do not meet the gateway criteria for the clinical pathway strand of the service should be rejected.

Wrong! If a patient is electronically referred for a clinical pathway condition but does not meet the eligibility criteria, they can instead be seen under the minor illness strand of the service.

For example, if a patient is electronically referred for earache but is an adult, they would not be eligible for the acute otitis media clinical pathway, but the pharmacist could provide the minor illness strand of the service for this patient.

Every September, blood pressure checks are taken by thousands to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Know Your Numbers! Week reaches those who have high blood pressure and don’t know it, so they can get the treatment and support they need to bring it under control.

Today, the Know Your Numbers! Week focus is on home blood pressure monitoring, as it's the easiest way to find out your blood pressure numbers so remember to get your pharmacies ready to support this campaign! 

Also please be aware that there are lots of outreach events happening in Devon over Know Your Numbers! week and that you and your team may see an increase in people requesting ABPM or monitors.

View the latest version of the deadline tracker here.

Stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do and there’s no better time than now to stop!

Stop For Life Devon has organised training dates to help professionals provide smoking cessation and confidently deliver assistance to smokers in your communities. Please view more details here.

Level 2 Smoking Cessation Practitioner training (full day)

9.30am-4pm

Thursday 12th September @ The Printworks, Tavistock

Thursday 26th September @ Old Heathcoat School Community Centre, Tiverton

Tuesday 15th October @ Okehampton Library

Online smoking cessation refresher training

10.30am – 12.30pm

Thursday 22nd August
Monday 16th September
Tuesday 8th October

Online Vape Awareness Training1st October: 10am – 11.30am

Please email stopforlife.devon@nhs.net to sign up or with any enquiries.

If you have a positive news story to share with us please send it to admin@cpdevon.org.uk and it will be featured in an upcoming edition of the review. If featured, you will also win a surprise gift for you and your team up to the value of £25!

Click the name you need to email them directly: