All 716 community pharmacies across Wales are taking part in a public health campaign focusing on the support that they can give to unpaid carers. The campaign, which is being being run in partnership between Public Health Wales, Community Pharmacy Wales and Carers Trust Wales is also raising awareness of the role of unpaid carers, often family members, in ensuring safe healthcare for many people.

'Here for carers / Yma I ofalwyr' runs for the whole of October. As part of the campaign, a new bilingual booklet – 'A carers guide to managingmedicines / Canllaw I Ofalwyr ar reoli meddyginiaeth' – is available to carers free of charge from pharmacies.

Prof Mark Drakeford, minister for health and social care, speaking at the campaign launch, said: "We have developed a particularly effective format for these public health campaigns in community pharmacies. The community pharmacy network is well placed for this as it is eveywhere, on every high street, and more of them in some disadvantaged parts of Wales. I think this booklet will be incredibly important, especially for people who do not think of themselves as carers."

Andrew Evans, principal pharmacist of Public Health Wales, said: "The purpose of this campaign is to raise awareness of the critical role of carers amongst pharmacies, as well as to promote the support services available to carers and to highlight the role pharmacy teams can take to help carers. Carers are likely to be visiting pharmacies regularly providing the opportunity for pharmacy teams to identify carers, provide advice that will help them fulfil their caring role effectively, particularly in relation to self care and medication issues."