BCPP
A PROJECT WHICH BENEFITS BOTH YOUNG AND OLD
MANY BUILDING THE COMMUNITY PHARMACY PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS FOCUS ON ONE SPECIFIC SECTOR OF SOCIETY. AT CARRICK YMCA, HOWEVER, THERE’S SOMETHING
FOR PRACTICALLY EVERYONE... Founded in 1873, Carrick YMCA is a local voluntary organisation that works with children, young people, families and community. To date, it has received funding for six level 2 BCPP projects and has recently been successful in obtaining a level 3 accreditation.
The initial BCPP projects focused on young people and their parents from two segregated loyalist estates in which there had previously been little, if any collaboration. Each of the BCPP projects worked with two groups involving twelve-fifteen people meeting over between six and twelve sessions depending on the group. Issues covered included alcohol awareness, smoking cessation, stress management and childhood ailments. In addition to the sessions, the group
Key findings from some of the projects indicated:
• All participants felt their health had improved as a result of the project.
• In the parents’ core group, four people felt that their psychological
wellbeing at the beginning of the project was ‘poor’. By the end of the project, however, only one person felt they had poor psychological wellbeing
Maurice Shearer has worked with the
also enjoyed team-building days and exercise programmes. At the end of the project a celebration event was held, with more than 50 people from the wider community in attendance, and this gave everyone the opportunity to share their learning and experiences.
YMCA for over fifteen years and was mainly involved with the Parents and Kids Together Programme: a BCPP project, which he has driven from the outset.
‘In addition to the benefits felt by the people, who attended the group sessions,’ said Maurice, ‘the pharmacists - Matthew McWilliams and Rebecca Miller from Victoria Pharmacy - also felt that they had benefited from the project.
‘The pharmacists felt that the groups felt more confident in approaching them and in making use of their services. Chats during sessions provided the pharmacists with a much clearer picture of the needs in these communities, much more than a brief conversation within the pharmacy premises would have allowed. These projects have helped to create a strong relationship between the pharmacies and the local communities, and this has enabled signposting of valuable services.’
During this latest year of funding, however, Maurice was approached by a group of dynamic older people from the local area, who wanted to experience what the youngsters had achieved through their pharmacy project. This was definitely a ‘new departure’ for Maurice, but one which he was definitely happy to embrace!
‘After working for the last few years with the younger people in the area, it’s definitely been very interesting branching out to engage with other age groups and encourage contact and cross-generational interaction,’ Maurice said. ‘This project has been a steep learning curve for me, but I’m always very enthusiastic about people’s energy for - and commitment to - the project. It’s also good for the pharmacist to change direction in his or her work and expand on various areas that can help to capture the interest of the participants. The BCPP Programme is all about building connected communities and this is what we need to do in the Carrick area.’
Fiona McNally from Medicare in Greenisland is taking over the BCPP project for the incoming period and the group are looking forward to exploring many varied issues: from blood pressure issues to arthritis; from medications to salsa dancing; from Tai Chi to sleeping patterns, and many more. The project will finish with a fishing trip and a cooking session to enjoy the day’s catch. This not only provides a great day of fun, but teaches the participants about nutrition.
‘In all, there are busy days ahead in Carrickfergus and everyone involved is benefiting from these projects.’ •
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