Thursday 5th December 2024                   

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

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

• Are you considering completing your Independent Prescriber (IP) training and need support finding a supervisor?
• Have you already started or completed your IP training and want to practice your clinical skills? 
• Thinking of becoming an educational supervisor or a designated prescribing practitioner? 
• Want to stay up to date about the development of IP within Community Pharmacy? 
• Do you have any thoughts about the clinical governance required to support safe prescribing in community pharmacy? 

Community Pharmacy Devon are in the process of thinking about what training courses to offer in 2025. Can you please take 1 minute to answer our 2-question survey so we can ensure that we are serving you all in the best way by providing relevant training? Please click here for the survey.

• Did you know that having an enlarged prostate does not put you at higher risk of developing prostate cancer?
• Do you know that there is a higher incidence of prostate cancer in men of black ethnicity?
• Do you know that most men with early prostate cancer have no symptoms?
• Are you aware that treatment options include Watchful Waiting and Active Surveillance?

Virtual Outcomes have launched a new course on Prostate Cancer to support pharmacy teams.  This course covers the signs and symptoms along with addressing the value of prostate screening.

For this, and the other free courses available for Community Pharmacies, please click here.

We have been made aware of recent issues in some community pharmacies about increased levels of verbal abuse being directed at pharmacy teams.  NHS England (NHSE) in collaboration with the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) have developed an eLearning course which aims to provide colleagues with an introduction to a public health and trauma-informed approach to preventing and reducing violence against staff working in health and care settings which you may find of help.

Just a friendly reminder to be extra careful with any clinical notes being sent to GPs after assessing a patient for hypertension. There has been some feedback from GPs who state that they are either having to see a patient again, or do a follow-up with them meaning that that they are potentially duplicating work.

The notes need to clearly state why a patient may have refused to have an ABPM so the GP can then assign tasks based on this information. If a patient does refuse the ABPM then the option of them being monitored over 7 days at set times can be offered as an alternative, these readings can then be shared with the GP.

Janet Morrison has given a video update on the the continued delay in negotiations for a new contractual framework for 2024/25. She describes the “severe frustration and intense anger” that she feels about the government delaying these negotiations in a climate where so many pharmacies are struggling. Listen to the blog 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!

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