An independent pharmacy business can benefit by using the best practices of the commercial sector

Pharmacy Voice chair Claire Ward believes the standard of winning entries at last month’s Independent Pharmacy Awards show the sector is in rude health

I recently attended ICP’s Independent Pharmacy Awards, which recognise independent community pharmacies that go above and beyond the call of duty. It would have been a hard task for the judges to decide the winners, but one thing is for sure, those they picked were worthy of the Awards. It was a timely reminder that there are some amazing, heart-warming examples of how community pharmacy makes a difference in our local communities, and not just through traditional routes either.

The Independent Pharmacist of the Year, Sandra Cooke, of Whitehouse Pharmacy in Derry, consulted many community stakeholders to see what the area really needed before opening her pharmacy. Her research helped shape the extended hours that the pharmacy operates and helped to build relationships with a range of community groups to whom she is offering so many innovative services. Such enthusiasm for an extended role for pharmacy is indeed inspiring.

Cadham pharmacy in Glenrothes is certainly making business a family affair. With mother and daughters involved as independent prescriber, pharmacists, dispensers and counter assistants, the team has embraced a range of services and partnered with local nurses so that they can provide an extended offering within the community pharmacy setting.

While others have been worried about the coverage of moves to base clinical pharmacists in GP surgeries, Bernadette Brown at Cadham pharmacy has shown an alternative model. Yes, some surgeries want to become multidisciplinary centres with pharmacists and nurses providing extended care, but it’s quite possible and even more beneficial for a greater network of people for some of the same services to be delivered from a community pharmacy, including by nurses.

Community pharmacy is more accessible for many patients, both geographically and through extended opening hours, evenings and weekends. This Scottish pharmacy is an example to the whole of the UK of what’s possible.

Innovation in action

Lewis Pharmacy provides an example of how pharmacy can go beyond the normal scope of practice to specialise in areas of huge importance to patients. Jackie Lewis has become a specialist in oncology, offering patients being treated for cancer tailored help with their medication. Much of her work with local cancer patients has come from a close working relationship with the local hospital, which ensures Jackie is aware of those patients being discharged who require her help.

Learning and Development Award winner, Ashley Cohen, from Pharm-Assist Healthcare in Leeds, showed that an independent pharmacy business can benefit by using the best practices of the commercial sector. From team training, briefings, and incentives for the development of multi-skilled teams, this pharmacy group has shown that professionalism and investment in staff is key to expanding the potential of a community pharmacy.

Magda Wolynska from Patels Chemist in Leicester demonstrates that the individual dedication and skills of staff can make the real difference for any local pharmacy. Her award citation was testament to the fact that patients build relationships with the pharmacy team; if staff go out of their way to provide the best patient experience, this will be reciprocated with loyalty to the pharmacy.

Building on the supply role

There is a common theme linking all these winners. They are all building on the core supply role of the pharmacy with the development of additional services and care for patients, whether that is providing greater access, specialist care for specific conditions, wider services through partnership with other healthcare professions, or building community relations on the back of a pharmacy’s vital social capital. The role of the bricks and mortar pharmacy simply keeps developing. Nothing stands still. While these winners are certainly at the cutting edge of the sector, there are many more like them who are doing things differently in a changing and challenging environment.

Inevitably change and challenge will also apply to the way in which prescriptions are dispensed too. Chief pharmacist Keith Ridge wants legislation to be changed to allow independents to access hub and spoke dispensing. I fully understand that some independents will be wary of this. Those who have spoken to me fear that this will simply be a cost-cutting exercise, stripping away at the core role without delivering other work and income streams. I can understand those fears, but I also know that when something like this is in motion we have to help steer it in the right direction, not to try and stop it.

We need to work out a model that would be beneficial for independents operationally and financially, but most of all we need to prize patient outcomes. Community pharmacy needs to resist any attempt to allow the ‘Amazonisation’ of dispensing, since direct distribution from hub to patient is not a model in anyone’s interest, except those who do not understand the true value of community pharmacy. Let’s learn this from the winners: community pharmacy can be and should be so much more. Only our own imagination can limit its potential.