COMMUNITY


“maNy faRmERS thINk that BEcaUSE thEy aRE OUtSIdE all day wORkINg that that EQUalS ExERcISE BUt It dOESN't. thEy'RE jUSt StUck IN a ROUtINE aNd, aS a RESUlt, maNy haVE hIgh chOlEStEROl IN thEIR latE 40S aNd 50S”


healthy. many farmers think that because they are outside all day working that that equals exercise but it doesn't. they're just stuck in a routine and, as a result, many have high cholesterol in their late 40s and 50s.'


maghERafElt four miles away, the growing - and increasingly affluent - town of magherafelt is displaying all the signs of disposable income but is, according to local pharmacist, katherine mcgilligan from mcglaughlin's chemist, replicating the problems shared by many areas of NI.


health minister michelle O’Neill


there's no doubt that we see quite a mix of ages, probably as a result of the number of new developments that are being built in, for example, the Stewartstown area. the area is definitely well populated, but it's also growing and, as a result, we're seeing the number of scripts that we're filling each month increasing.


'as with most pharmacists, we're seeing requests for mediboxes increasing at a steady rate of knots - as with delivery requests - and this is all down to the ageing population.


'Because we deal very much with the farming population, we're used to dealing with the issues that that demograph produces. for example, we have quite a few diabetics among the farmers and that is, unfortunately, the result of diet and lifestyle. high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes are very prevalent among this community and so we try to educate the farmers about diet - telling them to stay away from too many fries for example - in order to keep them


'the pharmacy has been operating for around 30 years,' katherine told Pif, 'and we have a wide demographic mix - from the young to elderly farmers. the fact that there are seven secondary and grammar schools in the area tells you how many young people there are in magherafelt and the surrounding area, but the farming community is also a considerable size. By and large I would say I would say that we have a good mix.


'as such, we probably experience the same health issues as most pharmacies across the mid-Ulster area - such as burgeoning cases of diabetes and coeliac disease. we do, however, have a higher-than-average rate of young children, who are affected by heart problems, so we're regularly asked for specialist medication. as a result of our experience in this area we are now finding that patients are being referred to us from outside of our local catchment area.


'mental health is one area in which we are particularly interested, and, while we're not currently involved in any formal pharmacy/community projects, we regularly participate in mental health talks for patients across the age spectrum both within magherafelt and in the surrounding area.


'One area in which we're particularly interested is the issue of suboxone/methadone. despite the fact that magherafelt is quite an affluent area, there is a growing problem with addiction.


'as a pharmacy, we're currently trying to deal with problems associated with Otc medicines. we have, for example, taken kaolin and morphine off the shelves and now have a logbook in which we detail who buys the medicine and how much they're purchasing. this is all part of our initiative to ensure that people aren't buying this product too often. we reckon that about 75 per cent of sales of kaolin and morphine are addiction based, so, when someone wants to buy it, we take them into a consultation room to discuss with them the reasons why they're looking for it. this initiative has proven very successful as we have the sales down to a couple of bottles a week and we've asked the other pharmacies in the area to carry out a similar process. we are, however, - as with so many other pharmacies in NI – still struggling with the Otc painkiller problem.'


cOalISlaNd when she looks out of the window of donnelly mcaleer Pharmacy in the Square in coalisland, pharmacist adele graham can actually see the health minister's office just across the road!


'coalisland used to be quite a traditional but very mixed community, which straddled the socio- demographic range,' says adele, 'but the last few years have seen many new housing developments springing up and so a lot of new people are coming into the town - particularly young families. there is still, however, a large cohort of elderly people in the town and outlying areas.


'the town itself has three independent pharmacies and three


gP surgeries, but we also feed off dungannon, which is only about five miles away.


'despite the influx of young families, obesity and diabetes are still huge issues for us so, as a pharmacy, we're focussing on self care and self management.


'Respiratory is traditionally an area of concern in coalisland, mainly because of the coal pits that used to be mined here, resulting in very poor air quality. for that reason cOPd is prevalent in the area as a result of many people's previous lifestyle.


'Our pharmacy has been here for 30 years and we're very much part of the community. we're very involved in outreach and recently undertook at level 2 BcPP project, working with the local cancer charity lilac.' •


mId UlStER hEalth StatIStIcS


as at february 2014, there were 13,860 people, or 13.7 per cent of all constituents, in receipt of at least one disability-related benefit in mid Ulster: the NI average. mid Ulster had the joint sixth highest proportion of disability-related benefit recipients.


the highest proportion of people in receipt of at least one disability- related benefit (as a percentage of the population) were concentrated in the wards of coalisland South (20.2 per cent, 510 recipients), killymoon (18.7 per cent, 350 recipients) and ardboe (18.6 per cent, 490 recipients). the lowest proportions were found in the wards of Ballymaguigan (10.2 per cent, 290 recipients), Swatragh (10.3 per cent, 350 recipients) and Valley, and magherafelt (10.3 per cent, 280 recipients).


PhaRmacy IN fOcUS - 17


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