NEWS NPA IN FOCUS
UCA-NI Pharmacy Conference everyone is looking forward to the inaugural UCA-NI Pharmacy Conference on 29 March at Crowne Plaza, shaw’s Bridge, Belfast. The focus will be on regulatory issues in pharmacy practice - including changes to laws governing pharmacies and pharmacy practice - and the challenges that are facing pharmacists.
The NPA will deliver a session on how to run successful flu and travel clinics, which will help you if you are considering the delivery of new services through Patient Group Directions.
You will learn how to train for PGDs and the session will also include top tips on marketing the service.
The NPA offers a range of PGDs to enable pharmacists to provide medicines and vaccines privately to support a wide range of patient groups and conditions.
We have developed our services over a number of years and continue to build on the success of our members participating in PGDs throughout the country. By offering PGDs in your pharmacy, you are opening doors to more opportunities that can benefit your patients and customers, as well as your business.
Pharmacy First Community pharmacies are once again taking part in the Pharmacy First service for sore Throats, Colds and Flu-Like Illness, which is running until March 2020. Those participating should have an up-to-date standard operating procedure. The NPA has provided a template that can be adapted to each practice and it can be found on the information and guidance section of our website.
Ask Your Pharmacist Week A quick word of thanks to everyone who took part in November’s Ask Your Pharmacist Week. Once again, pharmacies in Northern Ireland were among the most active participants in the UK, especially when it came to arranging pharmacy visits from politicians and local dignitaries for the occasion. For more information about how the NPA can help you to promote your services, please contact me or my colleagues in the NPA press office at
press@npa.co.uk
Member Forums There will be continued engagement this year through our successful Member Forums. Dates are to be confirmed but these will be held in March, June and October 2020. If members have any topics they wish to discuss, they should contact
a.mcalister@
npa.co.uk.
NPA Board Meeting Finally, it was a pleasure to welcome the NPA Board, who held their January meeting in Belfast at the Titanic Hotel.
Gerard Greene and Cathy Harrison flanked by the NPA’s Andrew Lane and Mark Lyonette
‘The NPA board is delighted to be here in Belfast, to talk, listen and learn about the things that matter most to our members in Northern Ireland,’ NPA Chair, Andrew Lane, told attendees.
‘The turn of the year is traditionally a time to reflect on the past and to resolve to make changes for the future. some people will take small steps, others will attempt to adopt radically different mind-sets, behaviours and activities.
‘Whatever changes you may wish to make, you can be certain that the NPA stands ready to support any developments that help our members and the patients they serve.
‘Of course a significant change already this year is the re- establishment of the stormont executive. Hopefully this will soon bring the implementation of contractual changes with the agreement of Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland and the Department of Health. The political situation in Northern Ireland has made it hard to pursue transformational improvements in health care and maximise the benefits of community pharmacy for the population. Let’s hope that can now begin to change.
‘Meanwhile, the financial pressure on pharmacies in Northern Ireland is immense. CPNI says that the stresses and strains have reached crisis level and many NPA members agree with that stark assessment. But that hasn’t stopped any of you in the room from
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doing your utmost to maintain a quality pharmacy service and to seek continuously to make improvements.’
‘We live in interesting times……both in terms of community pharmacy and indeed the wider political landscape,’ CPNI Chair, Gerard Greene, told delegates. ‘2020 heralds not only a new year but also a new decade, a new approach.
‘The first significant news of 2020 was the recent appointment of Cathy Harrison as Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO) and I want to take this opportunity publicly to congratulate Cathy on her appointment and to wish her every success in her role as CPO.
‘The second significant change piece of news was the agreement by the political parties in NI to resume the Assembly. I am convinced that the perfect opportunity has presented itself for Cathy and all parties to write the next chapter in the development and evolution of community pharmacy services in NI over the next three to five years and beyond, building on the strengths that have characterised community pharmacy down through many years.
‘There are many difficulties here at present within community pharmacy, but we have to keep looking forward and I think that, with Cathy’s appointment and the restoration of the Assembly, some of the issues that have impeded the sector over recent years can be addressed.’
NPA Chair praises NI pharmacists
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