This year’s Ask Your Pharmacist (AYP) Week is on 6 to 13 November and provides a platform for pharmacy public awareness activities across the UK. It also serves as a prompt for conversations with local stakeholders about community pharmacy services

This year’s theme is ‘Discover Your Local Pharmacy’, which will allow the sector to showcase the full range of pharmacy services – surprising people with what’s on offer on their doorstep in local pharmacies. In support, the NPA will supply resources to its members to help pharmacies hold Discover Your Local Pharmacy ‘open days’ in their pharmacies.

Objectives
Ask Your Pharmacist Week – alongside the NPA’s other public awareness work – helps to align the expectations of patients and the public with the intentions and capabilities of pharmacy providers. It is part of the NPA’s ongoing efforts to address the fact that many people are unaware of everything that’s available on their doorstep, in their local pharmacy. Stephen Fishwick, NPA Head of Communications, says: “This year’s initiative is very much about the network of pharmacy premises, what happens inside them and the people who work there. AYP Week is just one of many NPA awareness activities that promote the benefi ts of the locally based pharmacy service proposition – accessible, caring, expert, responsive and community-based.”

Activities
AYP Week is, by design, participative and locally responsive. Therefore, as in previous years, the NPA will provide resources to help members engage customers and the public. Above all, there should be activities that take place in the pharmacy premises, since this is a big focus of the campaign. Activities could include: promoting a new or specifi c service; providing free blood pressure checks; inviting local dignitaries for a health check; or running a competition to name a pharmacy robot on social media or in the local press.

Resources
The NPA is working hard to raise awareness of the event via the media, but members can also access supporting resources including bunting, balloons and posters as well as digital assets like press release templates, presentation slides and social media content.

For more information visit npa.co.uk/discover