Thursday 24th October 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.

Community Pharmacy England wants to hear views and concerns from pharmacy owners in Devon as we head into winter.

A short survey aims to better understand pharmacy owners’ business concerns and the potential impact on patients this winter. The results will contribute to the national negotiator’s ongoing efforts to raise awareness of pharmacy pressures and push for increased core funding.

The community pharmacy sector urgently needs better funding and support, and this is an important chance for you to feed into Community Pharmacy England’s work to highlight the desperate situation pharmacy owners are facing.

The ten-minute survey, open until 11.59pm on Monday 4th November, can be completed here: November 2024 Committee Opinion Poll. Please note, this survey link is for independent and non-CCA multiples only, as CCA multiples have been asked to respond via their head offices.

Read more here.

We have arranged a meeting in London on the 20th November with Devon MPs to discuss the huge challenges faced by pharmacies across Devon and how we can work together to try to overcome some of them. This meeting will also be attended by key persons representing NHS healthcare across Devon.

We have received confirmation from a significant number of Devon MPs that they will be attending which is great news so we are asking for your assistance in formulating questions for them. How can we hold them to their promises and ensure that they prioritise pharmacies and healthcare across Devon? What about funding?

Please let us know if you have anything you would like to ask them by sending us an email at admin@cpdevon.org.uk.

With the number of completed clinical pathways increasing over the next couple of months it's important to maximise every opportunity with each patient. Please be aware that some clinical pathways are eligible with a self-care element and with the option to follow up with the patient if their symptoms do not improve. Ensuring your knowledge is up to date on this will assist with achieving those figures!

Also a big well done to everyone so far on a particularly busy period for Covid and flu vaccinations. Data shows that the number of people taking up the offer of a Covid jab has doubled on last year's figure and we know how busy you've all been and how hard you've worked!

The past few years have been incredibly challenging on pharmacists and their teams. As key workers, you have been working incredibly hard and supporting others, but have you had the time to think about how you’re feeling during this time?

Whether you’re feeling burnt-out, overwhelmed, struggling to cope with the pressures of your job, or having difficulties in your home life, the Devon Wellbeing Hub are here to help you.

If you are struggling with any aspect of your wellbeing at all, or you lead a team who would benefit from support, find out more about how they can help you today. They also run free, virtual workshops on a range of wellbeing topics, all of this information is available here.

Also, here is a testimonial from David Furzey, Admin Lead for the Staff Health and Wellbeing Team at Devon Partnership NHS Trust, who explains how the Devon Wellbeing Hub helped him navigate a challenging time in his life and why he would recommend the service to others. 

MedSafetyWeek is a social media campaign that takes place annually usually in November and each year there is a different focus or theme to encourage the reporting of suspected side effects.

This year will be the ninth annual #MedSafetyWeek social media campaign and it will take place on  the 4th to the 10th November 2024. The theme will be ‘the importance of using medicines in the right way to prevent side effects, and to report side effects when they do occur’. Read more and access the campaign resources here.

In last week's bulletin we told you about the RPS and RCGP repeat prescribing toolkit which has been made available to help improve the consistency, safety and efficiency of repeat prescribing systems in England.

You might find it helpful to listen to the Health Innovation Wessex podcast, hosted by the clinical lead of Medicines Optimisation, on the topic of electronic repeat dispensing. You can listen to it here. 

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: