Patient Involvement Group
Church Street Practice, The Health Centre,
Mably Way, Grove, OX12 9BN

Community Pharmacy

Everyone is familiar with the work of pharmacies as people go there to have their prescriptions dispensed. However, did you know that, under the terms of their NHS contract, all pharmacists, who have to be registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, could also help you in many other ways?

All Pharmacists

• Dispense prescriptions
• Should be able to run a repeat prescription service,
• Dispose of unwanted medicines
• Are qualified to direct patients to other sources of help, when consulted,
• Are able to advise patients on what they can do to help themselves by using 'over the counter' medicines.
• Take part in PCT Health Promotion campaigns

You can talk, in confidence, to your pharmacist about your own health problems or those of members of your family, when patient confidentiality allows.

You can ask your pharmacist to:

• Ensure that you know how and when to take your medication
• Tell you if there is anything you should avoid while using your medication
• Explain, if necessary, the information on the 'small print' leaflet that comes with your medication
• Help you with 'user friendly' containers
• Advise you on minor injuries, ailments and advise you if you need to see a GP

Questions and Answers

How does the repeat prescription system work? In Wantage and Grove the system has been in place for many years whereby you indicate your requirements in writing, often using the repeat request slip, and pop this into the pharmacy or surgery. Please ensure you mark where you wish to collect it from and allow 48 hours (although a week would be better). All the pharmacies go to the surgeries to collect the completed prescription to dispense.

Are these only for drugs that patients are currently taking? Medications that are current on your file. Not acute items such as antibiotics. The repeat slip will often have an indication e.g 1/3 of how many issues are allowed. In this example 3 before the doctor needs to review your notes.

Is it a good idea to try to use same pharmacy, especially for repeat medications? If so – why? It is not necessary, but it does give the pharmacist a full picture of the medicines you take, which is helpful to prevent problems. Pharmacists are not allowed to share patient information, but you are allowed to change pharmacy at any time, the choice is yours.

Is it possible for medications to be delivered to a patient's home? E.g. someone who is house bound or who has a large 'shipping order'? Many pharmacies offer a home delivery service where needed. This is NOT an NHS service, therefore you will need to check with your pharmacy. They may levy a fee for this service.

Why are unwanted drugs returned to the pharmacy? What happens to them? All medicines are dangerous when used inappropriately. It is therefore wise to return all unwanted medicines to a pharmacy for safe disposal. The local PCT has a system where it collects these returns for disposal by incineration.

Some patients take many pills and can get confused as to which they take when, can the pharmacist help? Yes. We can help by the use of compliance aids, large print, administration charts etc. Please discuss your concerns/problems.

Other Services.

Some pharmacists offer more services such as blood pressure and cholesterol checks. They may initiate a review of long-term medications (Medicines Use Review) and can intervene when problems arise with medications (Prescription Intervention). Enhanced services may be offered which include, for example, provision of specialist drugs for palliative care, needle exchange, supervised administration of prescribed medicines and the 'morning after' pill.

As you can see, the pharmacist's role is much more than just picking up a package and putting a label on.

Not all pharmacies are the same and, no doubt, you have your favourite. However, we do all work under the same rules with the core aim being the well being of you, the patient. Appointments are rarely necessary to access a pharmacist. If they do not know the answer to your query then they usually know someone who does!

I hope that this piece has given some insight into what we, pharmacists, are up to. However should you have any questions please do not hesitate to give me or one of my colleagues a call. We're here to help.

Paul Rodwell MRPharm

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