The Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) initiative is designed to put the pharmacy at the centre of the community's health and wellbeing. As part of this, pharmacies are now required to provide self-care advice and treatment for common ailments and healthy lifestyle interventions, in addition to providing the safe supply and use of prescribed medicines. To be a designated Healthy Living Pharmacy, at least one member of the pharmacy team has to be trained as a Health Champion.

Within a community pharmacy, Health Champions (HCs) are members of the pharmacy team who are trained and accredited to provide customers with health and wellbeing advice. The key role of a Health Champion is to provide people with information about their health and signpost them to other community services (including commissioned pharmacy services) that will help them to adopt healthier lifestyles and access the support they need to do so. Health Champions have achieved the Royal Society for Public Health (RPSH) Understanding Health Improvement Level 2 award. This role and qualification is also recognised by other health providers and public health commissioners.

The ideal Health Champion has the following attributes:

- Lives in the community that they work in

- Works on the medicines counter or, if within the dispensary, has plenty of opportunity to interface with customers

- Is passionate about helping individuals and wants to make a difference

- Is prepared to engage in proactive conversations about an individual’s health

- Wants to develop their role further and invest time in their development

- Has or can develop skills in questioning, listening and establishing rapport

- Has or can develop a knowledge of health-related issues such as obesity, smoking, and alcohol

- Works well in a team; prepared to take a lead in activities such as health promotional activities

- May be engaged in service delivery already (although this is not essential, it suggested a synergy between the proactive engagement with individuals and follow-up in service delivery)

- Should be able to research and keep an up to date a local directory of health and wellbeing services in the local area.