Pharmacy review

Healthwatch Bexley conducted a survey gathering people’s experience of using pharmacy services in Bexley, between June and July 2017. The survey was carried out with people visiting independent and small-chain pharmacies. The work was a review to feed into the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment.

The report identifies a number of key issues: pharmacy staff were described as polite and attentive; the waiting time to collect or order a prescription was generally under 10 minutes, with many collecting their prescription immediately; local pharmacies were described as accessible and convenient to get to; however, most respondents preferred to consult their GP rather than their local pharmacy about a minor ailment; 40% of respondents did not know that there was a private room in their local pharmacy they could use to consult with their pharmacist on health issues.

The report makes the following recommendations:

• Use space in Bexley magazine and other channels to promote healthy lifestyle facilities offered by Pharmacists.

• Promote disposal of unwanted medicine procedures via Bexley magazine and posters in GP surgeries and pharmacies.

• Encourage patients to make a pharmacy their first port of call by way of a recorded message whilst they wait for the GP receptionist to answer calls.

• A collaborative and generic practice leaflet to be issued across all independent Bexley pharmacies together with a consistent feedback and complaints approach