Why do we need Health Plus Pharmacy?

Aim

To provide an overview of how Health + Pharmacy can contribute to public health in Northern Ireland

Learning outcomes

• List the public health issues in Northern Ireland

• Outline the role of a Health + pharmacy

• Describe examples of public health services a Health + pharmacy can deliver

• Understand factors contributing to health inequalities

• Recognise how engaging with your community is important in starting to influence public health

• Identify the challenges of changing behaviour

• See brief advice and brief interventions as key elements in ‘making every contact count’.

Learning outcomes

• List the public health issues in Northern Ireland

• Outline the role of a Health + pharmacy

• Describe examples of public health services a Health + pharmacy can deliver

• Understand factors contributing to health inequalities

• Recognise how engaging with your community is important in starting to influence public health

• Identify the challenges of changing behaviour

• See brief advice and brief interventions as key elements in ‘making every contact count’.

Community pharmacies are …

• visited by 123,000 people in Northern Ireland each day

• open, accessible, convenient, in the heart of communities

• often the first point of contact as they are trusted and approachable professionals

Recommendation 7

‘An expanded role for community pharmacy in the arena of health promotion both in pharmacies and in the community’

The public health issues in NI

• Life expectancy is lower in NI than in the rest of UK with the exception of Scotland

• Life expectancy reduced by smoking, obesity, drug and alcohol misuse and poor mental health

• Coronary Heart disease, cancer and respiratory disease are the main causes of death

• The alcohol related death rate in the most deprived area is almost 9 times that in the least deprived

• At any one time, one in five adults in Northern Ireland have a mental health condition (anxiety/depression)

The public health issues in NI

• Obesity reduces life expectancy by up to 9 years

• In Northern Ireland 59% of adults were either overweight (36%) or obese (23%)

• In children aged 8-15 years 8% were obese

• Smoking remains the single greatest cause of preventable illness and premature death

• Smoking kills around 2,300 people per year in Northern Ireland – one third from lung cancer)

• More people die in disadvantaged areas as a result of smoking than in more affluent areas

Effects of inequality in NI

By engaging with disadvantaged communities we can ….

• improve uptake of services

• improve access to services

• increase knowledge

• increase referral/ signposting

• improve use of medicines

• improve health and wellbeing

Health + Pharmacy model

• Delivers a broad range of public health services• Promote healthy living and wellbeing• Healthy living ethos is reflected in the staff and

pharmacy premises• At least one non-pharmacist staff member acts as

the Well Being Advisor• The pharmacy team is proactive in making every

interaction count • A Health + pharmacy is easily recognisable to the

public and other healthcare professionals

Health + Pharmacy services