The pharmacy teams at Chesterton Pharmacy in Cirencester, Badham Pharmacy in Cheltenham (Whaddon Road) and Drybrook Pharmacy in the Forest of Dean are celebrating achieving Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) accreditation.
As HLPs, these pharmacies now offer a broader range of support services and expert advice to help people change their lifestyles and improve their health and wellbeing.
Leo Ferro, Pharmacy Owner at Chesterton Pharmacy said:
“We are really proud to be accredited as a Healthy Living Pharmacy. This award demonstrates how important the health and wellbeing of our community is to us, and has provided our team with a new focus and enthusiasm.”
Peter Badham, Managing Director at Whaddon Road Pharmacy in Cheltenham, added:
“We can provide people with expert advice, and put them in touch with services that can help them be healthier, such as support to stop smoking or achieve a healthy weight.”
Penny Rae, Pharmacy Owner at Drybrook Pharmacy in the Forest of Dean echoed these thoughts, adding:
“As there’s no appointment system, it’s really easy for people to come and have a chat.”
Healthy Living Pharmacies can be identified by their HLP logo. They each have one or more Healthy Living Champions – in-store experts on finding healthy lifestyle information and local services.
To be awarded the HLP status, the pharmacies had to demonstrate and apply a healthy living ethos throughout their daily practice. They now provide advice on a range of lifestyle related health issues, including quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, emergency contraception, managing a health condition and sexual health concerns.
Chair of NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, Dr Helen Miller, said:
“Healthy Living Pharmacies demonstrate the value that pharmacists add to local healthcare provision, providing expert advice on issues such as emergency contraception, help with losing weight, stopping smoking and using medications to best effect. I’d like to congratulate each of these pharmacies on achieving the HLP quality mark and for the changes they are helping to deliver.”
Cllr Dorcas Binns, Cabinet Member for Public Health at Gloucestershire County Council, said:
“Pharmacies are already recognised as a trusted source of expert advice. Situated in the heart of the community, they can make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of local residents. I am delighted to see their commitment and hard work being recognised in this way.”
Eight pharmacies in Gloucestershire are being granted the quality mark which they received at a celebratory event in January. They are set to be joined over the next year by a further 46 pharmacies across the county.
The programme is being driven by Gloucestershire County Council Public Health and NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, in partnership with the Local Pharmaceutical Committee and NHS England.