Pharmacy type
Community
Pharmacy context
COVID-19
Relevant standards
- 4.1 - The pharmacy services provided are accessible to patients and the public
Why this is notable practice
The pharmacy is using social media positively to inform the local community about the changes in the way it is providing its pharmacy services. It is doing this through posting videos on its social media page. These videos also inform people how they can help the pharmacy to give a better service.
How the pharmacy did this
The superintendent pharmacist had posted three live video updates on the pharmacy Facebook page to inform the village what was happening during the COVID-19 pandemic. These had been forwarded to the local village Facebook group.
Matters discussed on the first video included the ‘helping hands' scheme which was being promoted by the doctors’ surgery in the village; a list of telephone numbers was published after the video.
The second video gave suggestions to help people who were self-isolating. With details of symptoms and a reminder that people should not to go into the pharmacy if they had symptoms or were living with someone who had them. Instead they should contact NHS 111. This video informed people that the pharmacy now had a doorman to regulate the queue as there had been a lot of people crowding into the pharmacy. And it provided an update on its delivery service. The superintendent pharmacist also explained how dispensing time had increased due to managing staff absences and bringing in other support staff. It was mentioned that the pharmacy had no thermometers, gloves, masks or hand sanitiser in stock. And it requested people didn’t phone about these as it would allow more time for tasks associated with dispensing medicines. It explained that paracetamol was in stock, but there was a plea to only buy what people needed. And it informed people that overbuying was what was causing some stock issues.
The third video told of the change in opening hours and why they had to do so. It spoke of the backlog of prescriptions waiting to be dispensed, and how they were cleaning the pharmacy.
What difference this made to patients
People are more informed about what is happening and why prescriptions are taking longer to dispense. There has been a positive reaction from the village.
Highlighted standards
We have identified the standards most likely and least likely to be met in inspections, and highlighted examples of notable practice for each of these standards; to help everyone learn from others and to support continuous improvement: