Hello Everyone,
The concept of healthy living pharmacies was first developed in Portsmouth in 2009 as a follow up of the White Paper published by the Department of Health. This White Paper set a vision of developing community pharmacies which would ensure safe, effective and more personalised patient care. The aim of the Healthy Living Pharmacies (HLP) framework is to provide consistent high quality services, reflecting the needs of the local community. This approach deviates from the idea of pharmacies being only the suppliers of medicine but rather pictures them a ‘healthy living’ centres promoting healthy lifestyle and advising patients on medication specific to their needs.
There are three main principles which have to be followed and respected by a community pharmacy in order to become a Healthy Living Pharmacy:
Trained staff - skilled, engaging team ble to promote healthy living and encourage patients to implement behavioral changes to improve their wellbeing
Engagement with the local community - including patients, social care and other healthcare professionals in order to support and signpost patients to other service providers in the community
Premises that are fit for purposes - providing advice which is clear, consistent with national/local health messages and evidence-based wherever possible
Norfolk’s Living Well:
Norfolk county has actively participated in the HLP framework and in 2013 Hurn Chemist in Norwich became a Healthy Living Pharmacy. It successfully met all high quality standards as well as trained staff to offer patients health and wellbeing advice besides supplying them their medication. Hurn Chemist does not only offers free NHS Flu vaccinations to at-risk patients but also has two consultations rooms which can be used for various healthcare services as weight management, NHS Health Checks or smoking cessation.
Pharmacists and other healthcare professionals involved in the Healthy Living Pharmacy framework are able to provide the community with advice and information to support self-care and improve lives of people around us.
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