Setting the right goals and culture for the new season ahead

A message from Claire Nevinson, Superintendent Pharmacist

As autumn approaches, we turn our attention to the Winter Flu Jab Service and the continuation of Pharmacy First and equivalent services across all UK nations. Not only is this a period of intensive training for our pharmacists, but it’s also time to prepare and reset pharmacy standards so that we can provide the best care to our patients. It’s also a time when we, and the community pharmacy sector, can feel the pressure of meeting customer demands and hitting targets to maximise available funding, without impacting patient safety. I encourage you to think about targets as aspirational goals, which are typically based on the expected demand within your community and reflective of the number of patients who you could support each day, week and month. It’s important to focus on achieving these goals within the right culture, where patients feel welcomed and invited to access services that are appropriate for their needs, rather than obligated to do so.

Our goal is always to maximise the number of patients to whom we provide optimal care every day, whether that be through a vaccination service, the NHS New Medicine Service in England, or a Pharmacy First consultation. I encourage you and your team members to celebrate the achievement of providing care to more people who need it (rather than “hitting a number”). It is important to ensure that your team members are well-trained and engaged to create a supportive environment in which the whole team works together towards this common goal. It’s also worth engaging support from your local GP surgery team(s), who will no doubt be experiencing similar pressures at this time of year. Above all, prioritise patient safety. To support this, please ensure that your appointment diary is carefully managed, and the day-to-day running of your dispensing operation is maintained safely, particularly if your store is new to processes such as ADDD and Scan to Accuracy Check. Setting the right environment, and having the right culture, will help to ensure your autumn and winter seasons run smoothly and have a positive impact on patients and team members alike.

On 17 September, we celebrate World Patient Safety Day. This year, the theme is: ‘Improving diagnosis for patient safety’ with the slogan: “Get it right, make it safe!”, highlighting the critical importance of correct and timely diagnosis in ensuring patient safety and improving health outcomes. With our aim to invite patients into our pharmacies to access more clinical services, our role in timely and accurate diagnosis of conditions and provision of the right treatment or signposting becomes increasingly critical. Please reflect on how you will continue to grow your knowledge and skills to help patients access the care and treatment they need.