APPENDIX 55
Memorandum by Lloydspharmacy (OB 120)
We have noted that the Health Committee is due
to hear evidence from Melanie Johnson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State for Public Health. The Committee's enquiry into obesity
is of particular interest to Lloydspharmacy.
As you may know, Lloydspharmacy is now the largest
community pharmacy operator in Great Britain. We are committed
to working in partnership with the NHS and to improving the health
and well-being of patients in the UK. A central tenet of our pharmacy
concept is the high-quality and uniform advice offered to our
customers, not only on the symptoms of illness and medicines,
but on all conceivable aspects of a healthy and active life.
We place a great deal of importance on the concept
of "Social Pharmacy" and strongly believe that community
pharmacy, with its comprehensive network of trained healthcare
professionals across the UK, could play a far greater role in
supporting and furthering NHS priorities and simultaneously reducing
the burden on clinicians.
The key to tackling unhealthy lifestyles is
through prevention. Community pharmacy offers, in their local
communities, access to health information through the provision
of health education leaflets and in some cases by holding health
awareness days. Lloydspharmacy has produced a range of leaflets
covering a wide variety of topics such as `Your Diet and Heart
Disease' and `Your Diet and Diabetes'. We believe community pharmacy
is an ideal channel to promote the `health message' and would
encourage the Government to work in partnership with community
pharmacy to take advantage fully of its accessibility to the public
and utilise the skills of the pharmacist.
I attach a short briefing on, Healthy Living:
the Role of Pharmacy, which we hope will be of interest to the
Committee's enquiry.
March 2004
HEALTHY LIVING:
THE ROLE
OF PHARMACY
The Government's recent pharmacy strategy, A
Vision for Pharmacy in the New NHS, recognised that "Pharmacists
are probably the bigges untapped resource for health improvement."
Lloydspharmacy strongly supports theconcept of "Social Pharmacy"
and believes that community pharmacy, with its comprehensive network
of trained healthcare professionals across the UK, could play
a key role in supporting and furthering NHS priorities—not
just in relation to minor ailments, but as part of an integrated
strategy to combat major diseases. We are committed to developing
this role.
Over two million people visit a Lloydspharmacy
each week and 90% of our business is directly related to healthcare.
Our pharmacists and healthcare assistants have daily contact with
a large number of individuals seeking help and advice on a wide
range of health topics. This daily access offers community pharmacy
a key opportunity to provide sevices that promote a healthy lifestyle.
In addition, our live in-pharmacy radio station, Lloydspharmacy
Live, provides us with a method to communicate crucial healthcare
advice to our customers. Launched in 2003, Lloydspharmacy Live
is on air 9.5 hours a day, Monday to Saturday and features
discussions on topical health issues along with news, music and
interviews.
Lloydspharmacy also offers a number of services
that support healthy living, including a Healthy Heart Check,
which measures cholesterol and blood presssure levels, a Smoking
Cessation Programme and a Diabestes Testing Service, most offered
in private consultation areas.
The implementation of pharmacy services centred
on a healthy lifestyle: obesity case study
Role 1: The key to tackling unhealthy lifestyles
is through prevention. Community pharmacy offes to their local
communities, access to health information through the provision
of health education leaflets and in some cases by holding health
awareness days. Lloydsharmacy has produced a range of leaflets
covering a wide variety of topics such as "Your Diet and
Heart Disease" and "Your Diet and Diabetes". We
believe community pharmacy is an ideal channel to promote the
"health message" and would encourage the Government
to work in partnership with community pharmacy to take advantage
fully of its accessibility to the public and utilise the skills
of the pharmacist.
Role 2: The next key element is to identify
individuals who are already affected by their lifestyle, such
as those who have become obese, but have not yet started to show
signs of any complications. If these individuals can be motivated
to make adjustments in their lifestyle it can prevent the development
of serious conditions.
For example, as part of the Lloydsharmacy Type
II Diabetes Testing Service measurements of both body mass index
(BMI) and waist circumference are made and recorded. The pharmacist
and healthcare assistant can then offer appropriate advice on
healthy eating and physical activity. This could be considered
as a precursor to a more comprehensive service that deals specifically
with obesity. When talking about obesity, our staff are trained
to discuss with patients the health-related risks of it. The Blood
Pressure and Diabetes services offer the opportunity to do this
and provide a motivational tool to help individuals make lifestyle
adjustments.
Role 3: Help needs to be available to those
who are already overweight or obese and are being treated for
a related condition. Community pharmacists are in regular contact
with most individuals who have chronic conditions due to the frequency
of their prescriptions. This gives community pharmacy an ideal
opportunity to offer support and advice on a regular basis provided
through a programme centred on healthy eating and physical activity.
Further development into a structured health promotion programme
covering all elements of their condition including controlling
weight could also occur.
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