Oswestry pharmacist wins Healthy Living award
Staff at an Oswestry pharmacy are celebrating after becoming one of just 250 in the country to be named as a Healthy Living Pharmacy.
John Gentle and his staff at The Pharmacy @ Caxton applied to be a HLP pathfinder site which means they were judged on the standard of their public health services.
The scheme, which was first developed and implemented by NHS Portsmouth, involved the assessment of the quality of their services such as stopping smoking, weight loss, contraception and sexual health and advice on alcohol.
Mr Gentle, superintendent pharmacist at the site next to The Caxton Surgery on Oswald Road, was presented with the accreditation certificate at The Greenhous Meadow in Shrewsbury. The pharmacy was one of 19 to achieve the accreditation in Shropshire.
He said: “This is fantastic news for our customers as it shows how dedicated we are to providing a first class service when it comes to public health services.
“We have always made it clear that the health and wellbeing of our customers is our number one priority but it is excellent news that we have now been officially recognised for this.”
He added: “Advice and support when it comes to issues such as giving up smoking and weight loss is vital and it makes a huge difference to people’s lives.
“We have seen people completely turn their lives around and start living again by changing their lifestyle with our support. But these people may not have made those first steps to weight loss or to give up smoking if they had had to walk into the doctor’s surgery but they felt able to at a community pharmacy.
“Another example is the free contraception for under 25’s. This makes it more accessible than if they had to make an appointment with the doctor and they know our door is always open but it is still prescribed in a controlled environment.”
Mr Gentle, who launched the pharmacy in May last year after running Willow Street Pharmacy, added: “This accreditation shows we are a community pharmacy with the customer’s needs at the top of the priority list.
“People often mistakenly think you have to be a patient at The Caxton Surgery to use our services but that is not the case. As a community pharmacy the door is open to anyone and everyone from across the town.
“We hope now we have this HLP status on show, people will see the success we have already achieved and will embrace the vast range of health services we offer in our consulting room which includes health checks, medicine review, blood pressure testing and weight management.”
Bosses of the HLP accreditation scheme, which has received the backing from the national pharmacy organisations, have hailed the concept a success.
In May Pharmacy Minister Lord Howe visited the 100th Healthy Living Pharmacy to be accredited in England.
The Pharmacy @ Caxton, off Oswald Road, is one of 226 HLPs across 16 HLP Primary Care Trust pathfinder areas.
