DRIVING COMMUNITY Driving up Profit for Pharmacy Partnerships
Mary O’Hagan, Finance Officer with the Community Development & Health Network (CDHN) spoke on how the Building the Community Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP) proposes to integrate Pharmacy into their programme for both financial and community gain.
T
he dictionary definition of profit is “an advantage or benefit derived from an activity”. This is
exactly what we propose the Building the Community Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP) does for those Pharmacists who participate in the Programme and for Pharmacy as a profession. So there is a happy combination of both financial and community gain.
Following on from data and business exploration that the morning session of this event comprised, the passionate description of the work that CDHN does with local Pharmacists and communities touched a chord with those present.
We have worked hard with BCPP to end health Inequalities through community development. We believe that our health is affected by more than access to health services, individual lifestyle choices and our own genetic make-up. These other factors can include poverty, the environment, education, living and working conditions, housing, access to food and social and community networks.
When we work collectively for community development in Northern Ireland we make the connection between all of these factors and our health. Collective action is the most effective tool to end health inequalities. CDHN sees coalition building as a crucial part of our approach to ending health inequalities.
Delegates were presented with a brief overview of the social model of health and some disturbing statistics about health inequalities. The audience were asked to picture two baby boys one wearing a Baby Gap outfit and one in Primark – shockingly the baby in the most deprived area will die 7.3 years earlier than the child from the least deprived. (unless the Baby Gap was bought in St Vincent De Paul!).
I showed the now famous Metro slide prepared using local destinations for Dr.Michael McBride which showed the area from Donegal Square to Finaghy Road South and the nine year difference in life span along this route.
Dr McBride has said that he brought himself out of this dire prediction of lifespan by virtue of his education CDHN wonder if this route is as open to our youth of today, leaving University as they do with enormous debt going forward.
With regards to the history of the Pharmacy Programme and its roots - going back to Dr Vanessa Chambers, who conceived of the idea and sold it to the Department getting the funding for the Pilot Programme.
The Pharmacists in the room who had by virtue of their experience and openness encouraged and helped the Programme to grow and become an effective tool for engagement and connection with local communities, which is Pharmacy speak for “customers”.
People from the early days such as Sarah Mawhinney, Seamus Strain and Patrick Kennedy right up to current participants Stephen Burns, Colin Harrison and Jack McPolin have helped to streamlined and progress the work, an example of co-production in action.
Over the years the Programme was refined and robust systems of data
collection were introduced using the WHO General Health Questionnaire 12 as a guide.
Dr Mike Kelly (NICE) a world respected Professor, who works closely with CDHN’s Pathways to Health Programme is very keen for the five years dataset of information we hold to be interrogated to inform the future direction of the work.
This in his view would be an exciting piece of research perhaps in partnership with local Universities.
One Project which is very close to her heart is a street drinkers' project in Derry/Londonderry. Here, there have been very real connections made and the success of the Project during one of the harshest winters Northern Ireland has ever suffered, have been tremendous which resulted in the death of three homeless men
on the streets of Derry that year have been tremendous.
Some people are just born to tell stories, this was a powerful portrayal of Projects in action.
I closed my talk stating that what CDHN really lacked was the expertise to use the information they hold to best affect, through both a lack of finance and knowledge.
This appeal did not fall on deaf ears as an immediate offer of “pro bono” support was made by Conall Lavery of Real World Retail to assist CDHN in this endeavour.
Who knows the benefit this generous offer could derive going forward, combining as it does the Driving up Profit image and the individual struggling with a health hazard, resulting perhaps in profits up and inequalities down? n
pharmacyinfocus.co.uk 39
Glenn Roberts Deloitte, Conall Lavery RWR, Tony McEntee, Allcare Pharmacy Group and May O'Hagan, BCCP
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