Helping you deliver patient-centred care with the latest news and essential information about key products and developments in store.
Stress awareness
In a recent survey, the Stress Management Society found that 65 per cent of people in the UK have felt more stressed since COVID-19 restrictions began in March 2020.
April is Stress Awareness Month, and this year's campaign is all about regaining connection, certainty and control.
They are running a 30 day challenge throughout April, which involves making small changes to improve mental wellbeing. To find out more, visit www.stress.org.uk/stressawarenessmonth
Core items diagnostic
Our April interviewee is Bernadette Lavery, Director of Pharmacy. She talks us through the importance of understanding what your local pharmacy customers need from you. She also shares her views on having an action plan to grow core items business, plus her top tips on how to engage your team with the plan. Click on the interview to find out more.
Click the boxes below for product updates and news.
Emla Cream 5% (P)
Lidocaine; prilocaine
Item code: See Boots.com
Topical numbing cream for a less painful needle experience.
Emla is a topical anaesthetic cream which can be applied before a range of needle procedures, including vaccinations, blood tests and cosmetic needle procedures, such as tattoos.
It can reduce needle pain, which may in turn ease stress and fear.
Customers who fear needles, or simply wish to reduce needle pain, can buy Emla without a prescription.
Emla is available in 5 g and 30 g packs. Some packs contain suitable dressings to cover the cream.
Advise customers to read the enclosed leaflet for directions for use.
See below for product information.
UK-LIDP-02-21-00005 February 2021
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+
Item code: 18-73-431
A daily moisturiser for oily and acne-prone skin from the Effaclar range, recommended by 8 out of 10 UK dermatologists.*
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+ has three key actions:
- Keratolytic action: Helps exfoliate blocked pores without causing irritation
- Soothes red spots: May minimise appearance of red spots and the formation of coloured marks
- Anti-recurrence: Can rebalance the skin microbiome which can help minimise the cause of future breakouts.
Directions for use: Apply on the face morning and/or evening after cleansing with Effaclar Cleansing Gel. Avoid the delicate eye area.
For more information about the Effaclar range, look out for the Healthy Skin module in May's Tutor Programme.
Vitality CBD Oral Spray
Item code: 85-88-988
Vitality CBD is committed to research and product development, ensuring they produce the best quality CBD products available.+
- All-natural, premium CBD oral spray
- No THC
- Non-psychotropic
- Suitable from 18 years.
Advise customers to refer to product packaging for directions for use.
Do not exceed the recommended dose.
Boots Bluetooth Enabled
Non-contact Thermometer
Item code: 19-35-453
Provides an accurate temperature reading within seconds, without the need for skin contact.
- Hygienic and safe measurement
- Accurate results within seconds
- Clinically validated
- Stores last 60 readings
- With infrared detector
- Easy to use
- Suitable for use in all ages.
Advise customers to read the enclosed leaflet for directions for use.
Emla Cream 5% (Lidocaine 2.5%, Prilocaine 2.5%). For topical anaesthesia of the skin in connection with needle insertion in adults and children. Aspen Pharma Trading Limited, 3016 Lake Drive, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland. Legal category: P. Information about this product, including adverse reactions, precautions, contraindications and method of use can be found at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/871
COVID-19 TESTING SERVICES
Boots offers two types of private COVID-19 testing services in stores to give customers reassurance when they need it most. These services are not suitable for customers with suspected or actual symptoms of COVID-19. Customers should follow the latest government guidance.
In-store COVID-19 PCR Testing Service
This service provides a convenient way to get a PCR test to check for a current COVID-19 infection.*
- Offered in approximately 200 stores
- Suitable for adults and children aged five years and over
- The appointment, including the swab test, will take about 10 minutes
- Swabs are sent to the laboratory to be tested
- Results typically received within 48 hours
- This service costs £120
- A negative PCR test result is often required for travel purposes. However, customers should always check the guidance for their destination
- Negative test result certificate provided.
In-store COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Testing Service
This service offers same-day results to check for a current COVID-19 infection.*
- Available in selected stores
- Suitable for adults and children aged five years and over
- The appointment, including the swab test, will take less than 10 minutes
- Specially-trained colleagues can process results in store
- Results typically available as little as an hour after the test
- This service costs £79.99
- This test may not be suitable for travel; some countries do not currently accept a negative result from an antigen test to permit entry
- Negative test result certificate provided.
Customer journey:
- Go to Boots.com/covid-19-testing and visit the page for the relevant service
- Click 'Order now' to order a test through the ReCoVa-19 portal and book an appointment online
- Visit the chosen Boots store for the swab test
- Receive an email with the result.
Visit Boots.com/covid-19-testing to find out more about these services, along with the latest home tests kits that are available to purchase. If your store doesn't offer one or both of these services, view the participating store lists so you can signpost suitable customers to the nearest store that offers them.
* Available in selected stores. Charges apply. Subject to lab capacity, specially trained colleague and stock availability. Customers must register and order a test on the ReCoVa-19 portal before booking an appointment. Appointments can be booked up to 28 days in advance.
HEALTHY SKIN
Supporting customers with their skincare concerns
Skin can be an area of concern for many customers, particularly those with skin that is dry, sensitive or prone to acne. Your team can support customers by offering advice on skin.
Skincare combines both the healthcare and beauty sides of Boots, so in May, there will be a skincare event across both beauty and healthcare categories. To combine these two aspects in our stores, we are introducing a free standing display unit with skincare products, which will sit in healthcare. This unit will be going into approximately 300 stores and will display a selection of La Roche-Posay and CeraVe products, which include ranges designed for a variety of different problem skin types:
- Acne-prone skin
- Eczema-prone skin
- Sensitive skin.
To support you to advise with confidence during the skin event, both our May Tutor Programme modules will focus on skin. The In Practice module, Healthy Skin, will cover advising on conditions such as acne and eczema, and will update you on the key features of La Roche-Posay and CeraVe product ranges, so you can recommend appropriate products to your customers.
Your skin training modules land 1 May on Pharmacy School.
HEALTH VIDEO SERIES
We are launching a series of videos across social media, as part of our marketing campaign to let customers know how we can support them.
Many customers don't realise that they can come to the pharmacy first for initial advice, instead of going straight to their GP. Pharmacists can support by advising on a variety of different common conditions and by offering our wide range of services.
In this video series, our very own pharmacists will be talking about how they help to support their communities every day. The videos will cover a range of topics, including:
- Supporting with common conditions
- Out of hours/midnight pharmacies
- Delivery options
- Text Message Service
- Electronic Prescription Service.
The videos will be on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram for customers, but you can also access them on BootsLive and Pharmacy Unscripted.
If you would like to get involved with the campaign, please email CoreItemsDevelopmentTeam@boots.co.uk
INTERVIEW - BERNADETTE LAVERY
Caring for your pharmacy customers
Talking to Bernadette Lavery, Director of Pharmacy, about the importance of every store understanding their local customers' needs and having a plan to grow their core items business.
What should stores be focusing on to grow items?
The key thing to focus on is understanding your local community and what's most important to your customers. There are many things you can do, but it's important to focus on fewer key things that will make the biggest difference to customers' experiences in your pharmacy. Every store is different and will have different areas that they can work on.
Understanding your local community and customer needs is essential
Why is it important for every store to have an action plan?
Having an action plan helps to create focus and gets the team engaged. It makes the goal of increasing your business feel more attainable when you have a plan for exactly what you need to do to get there. It's really important to keep it simple and focused on the things that will make the biggest difference to your customers.
Pharmacists and managers can keep the action plan alive by reviewing it on a weekly basis and updating monthly. Displaying the action plan in store is also a great reminder and a good way to keep everyone motivated.
What tools are available to support stores?
The updated diagnostic tool is a workbook with activities to help stores review their performance and identify opportunities for growing their business. Once colleagues have identified their local opportunities, the next step is to capture the actions the team will take, creating a simple, customer-focused action plan for their store.
The diagnostic also signposts teams to a toolkit of support materials, which are designed to help them carry out their action plan. Colleagues can find the materials on BootsLive and Pharmacy Unscripted.
What are your top tips for engaging the team to carry out the action plan?
One of the best ways to engage the team is to get them involved when you're going through the diagnostic - you don't have to do it on your own! Getting them to help build the action plan means that everyone understands exactly what they can do to contribute to growing the business.
Visit BootsLive or Pharmacy Unscripted to work through the diagnostic and access the support materials.