PULL UP A CHAIR Community Pharmacy’s Conversations for Change
The next Northern Ireland Pharmacy Brunch takes place on November 4 at the Crowne Plaza in Belfast. A collaboration between Pharmacy Shows and UCA-NI, this event is designed to bring people around the table for honest, useful conversations about the challenges and opportunities facing community pharmacy, with partners joining the discussion rather than standing on the sidelines. We sat down with Adrienne Clugston, Operations Manager at UCA-NI, to find out more about the day and why people should attend.
Who is the Northern Ireland Pharmacy Brunch aimed at, and who would you particularly encourage to attend?
It’s so important that pharmacists have opportunities to get together outside of their pharmacies, either to socialise, celebrate, or talk about community pharmacy as a business and a profession. That’s one of UCA-NI’s main aims and why we have added the Northern Ireland Pharmacy Brunch to our annual calendar of events. Community pharmacy needs time to discuss and develop ideas and strategies to move individual businesses and the sector as a whole forward. So, whether you are a contractor pharmacist, manager, employee or locum pharmacist, this is your space to talk about where you see and want your pharmacy business or career to go, and how you can help it get there.
What can pharmacy owners and managers expect from the event that they might not get from a traditional pharmacy conference or exhibition?
The brunch events are smaller and much more focused, with discussions based on one or two related issues. We bring attendees together with pharmacy and business professionals with relevant expertise, to have a more in-depth discussion, generating ideas and solutions to issues that matter most to pharmacies now.
The event is built around discussion and roundtables. How will that format benefit attendees and what can they expect to contribute?
As a smaller, more focused event, everyone gets the opportunity to contribute to the discussion and take something away from the day. For this event in particular, the aim is to listen to the views of pharmacists on the ground, to better understand how independent prescribing can be developed in community pharmacy safely and effectively and, how getting the skill-mix in the team right, can support new developments in the sector.
We know pharmacies are particularly busy, why should someone take time out to come along to the brunch?
Community pharmacies are extremely busy, with contractors and managers juggling many tasks during the day. You are often so busy doing what needs to be done now, that you don’t get time to stop and think about how to take your business forward.
36
pharmacyinfocus.co.uk
So, you need to carve out a little time for that, and the NI Pharmacy Brunch is the ideal opportunity to come out of the dispensary or office and devote a morning to thinking about the future of your pharmacy business. Plus, you get to catch up with colleagues or meet new people, talk over problems and solutions and hear what others are doing and experiencing.
Independent prescribing is one of the roundtable topics. What practical insights or ideas will attendees be able to take away from that discussion?
The community pharmacy sector has a strong record of introducing and developing new services to meet public health needs and customer demands. For many years pharmacy services have largely been related to NHS dispensing or supply of medicines and devices. We are currently experiencing a marked increase in demand for private health and care services which community pharmacy is ideally positioned to provide. Alongside this, the Department of Health’s education reforms are paving the way for independent prescribing in pharmacies. Community pharmacy is ready to embrace this new direction, but it is vital that independent prescribing is introduced safely and effectively. So, the brunch is an opportunity to come together, along with various stakeholder organisations, to discuss what governance is needed to ensure that services are successful and public confidence is maintained.
Recruitment and retention is another major theme. What do you hope attendees will learn from sharing their experiences and hearing from others in the sector?
Like all sectors, community pharmacy is finding recruitment and retention of all staff a significant challenge. Our employees are our biggest asset, but what can be done to remedy this issue? This event will provide an opportunity to hear from other pharmacies about their experiences and share ideas and potential solutions to help get the right skill-mix to take your pharmacy forward.
How valuable is it for pharmacy owners and managers to have the opportunity to speak openly with their peers about the challenges they are facing?
The community pharmacy sector is built on a strong network of pharmacists who share the same aim – to provide high quality health and care
services to their communities. But it is very easy to feel isolated as an individual business owner or manager, so events like the brunch offer an opportunity to share concerns with peers, and work together as a group, to take the profession and each pharmacy business, forward.
What sort of conversations or connections do you hope will continue after people leave the brunch?
The discussions at the November brunch will be only the start of the conversation. UCA-NI will continue to work with stakeholders and pharmacies to build on the outcomes of the roundtables. Individual attendees will go back to their teams with ideas and actions to drive forward new health and care services in their pharmacies.
At each event, new connections are made. It is difficult to have a meaningful discussion with a provider or company rep in a busy dispensary, so these events are a great opportunity for dedicated conversations with providers, to find out what solutions are out there which just might be what you need to take your business forward.
What would you like attendees to leave the brunch feeling they have gained from being there?
I want each attendee to feel they have learned something new, found a solution to a problem, made a new contact, or just enjoyed catching up with friends and colleagues. And I want everyone to go back to their pharmacies with fresh new ideas and a renewed focus on what they need to do in their business.
If the brunch sparks the conversations you’re hoping for, what could that mean for community pharmacy in Northern Ireland?
The community pharmacy sector in Northern Ireland is on the cusp of a major change with the rise of private health and care services, the introduction of independent prescribing. Pharmacy businesses must adapt their service provision and skill-mix to be able to integrate all the services demanded by the NHS and our communities. The aim of our events is to help pharmacies embrace these new opportunities safely and effectively and ensure that public confidence is maintained and the community pharmacy sector will continue to thrive.
Scan the QR code or visit
pharmacyshows.co.uk/ event/ni-pharmacy-brunch/ to register
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
