NUMARK


tHAt’S tHE SPIRIt


USUAllY, I StARt tHESE BlogS on QUItE A PESSIMIStIC notE, PRoBABlY AS A RESUlt of tHE CURREnt fInAnCIAl AUStERItY MEASURES tHAt HAVE BEEn tHRoWn At PRIMARY HEAltHCARE.


John Murphy Key Account Manager, numark


I


n England, it has been communicated that contractors will have to absorb a four per cent cut,


but in real terms the cut will equate to 7.4 per cent from December 2016 to March 2018. In my own area (northern Ireland) there has been a huge global sum reduction from £130 million to £90 million.


As a subsequent result of this I have been impressed with the entrepreneurial skills community pharmacists have shown in offering an excellent level of primary care.


David Cameron was a strong advocate of the ‘Big Society’ - a political ideology during the conservative 2010 election campaign.


the idea proposes ‘integrating the


free market with a theory of social solidarity based on hierarchy and voluntarism’; its aim was to create a climate that empowered local people and communities. Building a ‘Big Society’ would take power away from politicians and give it to people. In


36 - PHARMACY In foCUS


the high values that the general public have of community pharmacy are second to none, and by its very definition it is seen as a focal point of the community. But funding cuts have led pharmacy to evolve, meaning the variables have changed.


the most prevalent shift I have seen in the opinion of pharmacy is that ‘local chemists’ can do a lot more besides the very crucial role of dispensing nHS prescriptions. the value-added advice from pharmacists, medicine counter assistants and other


certain quarters this was met with some scepticism and there was a general consensus that it was just an excuse to save money in a time where there are public funding cuts.


this can be seen from a commercial


point of view, with retail becoming a very significant part of pharmacy and pharmacy owners realising that this is a gateway to prospective customers to their business. Retail can be considered in many ways, one of which is to create an ambience that illustrates professional healthcare, with clear and concise layouts of both P and gSl medicines, merchandising


tHE MoSt PREVAlEnt SHIft I HAVE SEEn In tHE oPInIon


of PHARMACY IS tHAt ‘loCAl CHEMIStS’ CAn Do A lot MoRE BESIDES tHE VERY


CRUCIAl RolE of DISPEnSIng nHS PRESCRIPtIonS


this got me thinking; has community pharmacy subliminally entered into the epoch of the ‘Big Society’?


and sales information that focuses on the patient and the pharmacy’s therapeutic segment.


professionals has been invaluable to the public.


MURs, minor ailments services and smoking cessation clinics are all financially beneficial services rewarded by our departments, and without question, these are carried out with the utmost integrity and professionalism.


However, it is the unseen day-to-day warmth, knowledge and ‘going that extra mile’ attitude for their customers and the community that never fails to impress me. this is illustrated through the help and advice given in society to our most vulnerable, for example dementia patients and those who rely on multiple dispensing trays.


So there we have it - the ‘Big Society’ exists after all, epitomised superlatively by our local pharmacies.


It is something that our health authorities up and down the country should take into consideration. the next time they are thinking of adding more cuts, they should ask themselves this vital question: what sort of community would be left if it lost its ‘local chemist’? •


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