Numark has published a series of free online resources to support its members with gaining Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) Level 1 self-accreditation which is expected to be rolled-out by Public Health England in April 2016.
The Numark resources include tips on how to evidence each section of the quality criteria, ideas for health campaigns and templates for recording them, along with links to websites to access promotional material.
One of the key training requirements for becoming a HLP is to have at least one member of staff (ideally two to ensure full coverage) who has undertaken the Royal Society of Public Health – Level 2 Award in Understanding Health Improvement. Numark has linked with Buttercups to offer this course to members at a discounted rate.
Laura Reed, Numark’s Service Development Manager, said, ‘We anticipate that future pharmacy services are more likely to be commissioned through HLPs and we’ve seen signs of this happening already in some areas. For instance, HLP accreditation has been mentioned as a standard to achieve in some service contracts, some services are being commissioned exclusively to HLPs or to HLPs as a priority and HLP accreditation has been used as an advantage over other providers during the tendering process.
‘As well as being an advantage when it comes to commissioning, becoming a HLP should lead to an increase in the number of patients accessing the pharmacy. The strengthened relationship the customer builds with their community pharmacy means having a trusted advisor to turn to, to help implement plans for a healthier lifestyle and monitor progress. It has benefits for the workforce too, health champions find the expansion of their role an enjoyable and rewarding experience, especially when they can see the impact a particular campaign has had on customers.
‘We don’t want to see independents being left behind where commissioning is concerned. With funding cuts on the horizon, they need to maximise all available income streams, so I’d urge all our members to start the HLP self-accreditation process now so that they are a step ahead when it launches next month.’
