Support for the community pharmacist consultation service

Helen Ellis – PCC lead for facilitation and the personal and team development programme – has an exciting announcement about help in implementing the community pharmacist consultation service

PCC is delighted to have been commissioned to support general practices to implement the community pharmacist consultation service (CPCS) referral pathway. The contract is to help practices review processes to increase the use of the service, essentially to increase referral numbers. 

We are mobilising a national support programme which aims to provide practices and primary care networks (PCNs) with:

• support in developing and implementing an action plan;
• access to resources;
• training in persuasion and change management skills.

Our team of facilitators has a wealth of experience in working with practice teams; we understand, and are sensitive to, the challenges they face. We can adapt and nuance our support according to where the practice is in the process and their levels of confidence about referring.

We’re working with regions and integrated care system leads to establish the support required in practices and PCNs – this could be conversations with practice managers about the barriers they’re experiencing and how to support staff to overcome them, or it could involve group coaching workshops at PCN level – looking at how to increase referral numbers and keep the momentum going. In addition, we’ll be delivering introductory webinars and online training sessions covering softer skills such as influencing skills which can help to build confidence in those making the referrals and having the conversations with patients. These can be accessed by all practices.

There’s a network on NHS Networks for participating practices to build a community where they can share experiences and access resources. All the support is free for practices to access.

It’s an exciting programme and we’re looking forward to sharing the journey over the next few months. For more information https://www.pcc-cic.org.uk/cpcs/

PCC is a not-for-profit social enterprise that provides trusted, practical support to health and social care including training, development and advisory services