August 2017 Blog – Public Health Campaign Resources and Advice

Public Health Campaign Resources and Advice

I am proud to announce that Derbyshire LPC has trained 178 Health Champions and 125 Health Leaders with funds from Health Education East Midlands and NHS England North Midlands.

The training however is just the beginning. Our Healthy Living Pharmacies (HLP) may be asked to provide their Portfolio of Evidence by various inspectors at any time (e.g. RSPH Evaluators, GPhC inspectors, NHS England, etc.), so it’s important that this information is kept up to date and accurate.

I’ve been asked several times for advice on what would be an appropriate health promotion topic and where to look for supporting resources. I would love to provide a definitive answer, but HLP is all about the pharmacy identifying LOCAL public health needs and engaging with their local population by addressing these needs in an appropriate manner.

I can say that the Public Health England Campaign Resource Centre is excellent and has everything you need to deliver their award winning campaigns at a local level. Just register for an account to gain access to lots of free professionally produced material (e.g. posters, leaflets, etc.). You can see what campaigns they are promoting and one of these could be relevant to you at a local level (e.g. Be Clear on Cancer).

A general overview of public health needs can be found in the JSNA/PNA, Director of Public Health’s Annual Report or after discussion with commissioners or public health professionals. More accessibly, online Health Profiles provide a snapshot overview of health for each local authority in England (can be drilled down to district level). This highlights issues that can affect health locally and is effectively “your starter for ten”.

If you are looking for ideas then check out the PSNC website. There’s plenty of guidance on everything pertaining to HLP, so why not start with their HLP Overview. Want specific ideas and suggestions on health promotion events and campaigns then take a look at the HLP Promotion Ideas section.

I also advocate regular visits to our Derbyshire LPC Website to see what’s happening locally and for information that could be relevant to your locality. Our meeting reports provide information and specific guidance on opportunities for contractors. In addition, the monthly Chairman’s Blog looks at topical matters and we use Twitter (follow us @DerbyshireLPC) to highlight news stories that could be of interest.

What about topical news stories in the media? There’s always something going on and health news regularly hits the headlines, especially if you are a Daily Mail reader! So keep abreast of what’s happening:

     National newspapers will give an insight into current health issues (e.g. obesity, diabetes, smoking, etc.) and these may be relevant to what’s happening in your area

     Local newspapers will highlight current local issues – also, the LPC provides copy to local newspapers (monthly) on a health related topic and this is now being taken up regularly (e.g. carers week)

     National Days/Weeks – look out for these and build on the publicity that surrounds them to create local interest and engagement (e.g. No Smoking Day on 8th March, Carers Week w/c 12th June, etc.).

Additional resources can be sourced from the so-called ‘Third Sector’ (i.e. the voluntary or community sector organisations that are not-for-profit and non-governmental) a.k.a. charities:

     Charity websites can be an excellent source of information and usually free materials or educational material you could use to brief/train staff (e.g. National Osteoporosis SocietyDiabetes UKAsthma UK, etc.) – if you can identify a local health need there will almost certainly be a charity for it!

     Local Charities – link with local charities for health promotion – they can provide local insights and may be willing to support the local health promotion events (i.e. a Win: Win situation)

I can also advise that whatever you decide to do make sure you have planned your campaign carefully, so you have the resources you need to create impact and interest.

When building your portfolio you will need to show evidence of your pharmacy’s health promotional activities. There needs to be a Health Promotion Zone that is clearly marked and accessible, looks professional and is appropriately equipped with up-to-date professional health and wellbeing information which meets identified local needs.

Finally, don’t forget to make use of your new Health Champion. They will be looking for opportunities to make a difference, so work with them and coach them to take ownership of health promotion. They are probably your most valuable resource! Finally, don’t forget to brief your staff and provide any training that might help them better understand the ‘ins and outs’ of your campaign. They need to be on board, so they can talk confidently to customers and get their engagement to make lifestyle or other changes. This is where that HLP leadership training should ‘kick-in’.

Before I conclude this month’s blog it is important to remind you of a few housekeeping matters:

  1. The first declaration period for the Quality Payments Scheme closed on 12th PSNC reported that over 11,000 pharmacies have completed a declaration for this period and should expect their first payment under the scheme at the end of June.
  2. The second review point is Friday 24thNovember and this is effectively the deadline for becoming a registered Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) Level 1.
  3. Contractors who have not previously been accredited, as an HLP must have an entry in the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) online register as a profession-led self-assessed HLP Level 1, as detailed inthe NHS England Pharmacy Quality Payments Quality Criteria Guidance.
  4. Completion of the assessment of compliance on the RSPH websitedoes not meet the HLP quality criterion; RSPH will need to confirm registration (RSPH will endeavour to contact contractors by mail or email within 10 working days) before a contractor can claim the HLP quality criterion.

That’s all for now folks!

John Sargeant,

Chairman, Derbyshire LPC

August 2017