Patient Group Direction (PGD) courses

Patient Group Directions (PGDs) enable pharmacists to provide medicines and vaccines privately to support a wide range of patient groups and conditions. The NPA offers vaccination training and PGDs through our partnerships at very competitive rates on an extensive range of flu, travel, vaccination and non-vaccination/clinical (formerly oral/topical) PGDs.

PGDs enable pharmacists to supply and administer specified medicines to pre-defined groups of patients without a prescription as part of service delivery eg private flu vaccination.

Benefits to your business from offering services:

  • Increases your footfall and your revenue streams
  • Drives repeat demand
  • Provides the pharmacist with additional skill-set
  • Improves the visibility of your business in the local community profile
  • Develops your potential market

Services are good for your patients and customers as:

  • Community pharmacies are highly accessible
  • They have the assurance of being offered advice, medication and/or vaccination by a trained, accredited and trusted front-line healthcare professional
  • Your service is convenient
  • You may offer out-of-hours access due to extended opening hours

Understanding behaviour change RSPH accredited

The aim of this qualification is to provide the learner with the knowledge and confidence to offer opportunistic brief advice to, or engage in brief interventions with, individuals about behaviour change which could improve their health and well being.

Understanding health improvement RSPH accredited

Both the RSPH and Department of Health believe that the workplace offers a real opportunity for health improvement, and employers are increasingly supporting the issue of staff health and wellbeing as good practice. Of course, you are in an ideal place to promote healthy living to your local community too.

  • Enable participants to gain better understanding and appreciation of how inequalities in health may develop and what the current policies are for addressing these.
  • Knowledge and understanding of the principles of promoting health and well-being and equip you to provide practical support for individuals trying to attain a healthier lifestyle.
  • Qualifying in Understanding Health Improvement will not only empower you in making healthier lifestyle choices, but also enable you to give advice thus enhancing the customer experience.

Measles

Although measles is a vaccine preventable disease, a recent Unicef report has placed the UK as having the 3rd highest rate of unvaccinated children out of the 10 highest-income countries. Alarmingly, more than 0.5 million UK children are currently at risk of contracting the potentially deadly measles virus because they have not been vaccinated. Public Health England also reports that there were 966 confirmed cases of measles in England alone during 2018 (nearly 4 times the number in 2017); with most cases reported in people over the age of 15.

To halt this worrying trend it is vital that pharmacists begin raising awareness of the importance of vaccination and start offering the service at their pharmacies.

Skincare

Patients regularly turn to their pharmacy for all manner of creams and lotions looking to discover that magic skin remedy. By running a comprehensive skincare clinic you can help patients make an informed decision as to which treatment is most appropriate

Strep A

Sore throats are a common ailment, especially in winter. People concerned that they may have contracted a throat infection already turn to pharmacies for over the counter remedies but pharmacies can help patients further by running a test 'n treat service. Trained pharmacists can confirm a patient's strep A diagnosis using a rapid test kit (also available via Pharmadoctor), then dispense appropriate treatment depending on the test result.

Meningitis B

Statistics show that teenagers and new university students are at a significantly higher risk than older members of the population of contracting the potentially life-threatening meningococcal B infection.

Media coverage of cases in recent years has raised awareness of the threat the disease poses but, whilst babies are routinely vaccinated against meningococcal B on the NHS, teenagers and university students are currently not eligible to receive the vaccine for free.

By running a private meningitis B vaccination service you can help protect customers at risk.

Weight loss

An estimated 23% of the UK population is now classed as obese, putting them at risk of a whole host of related health issues. The UK has the second highest rate of obesity in Europe and The Department of Health has also recently warned that obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading causes of some cancers. Despite this, the provision of weight management treatments available on the NHS remains restrictive with only one course of orlistat available.

By setting up a weight management service in your pharmacy you can provide convenient and personalised help to patients who need it.

Travel health

There are 42 million trips abroad each year where the traveller doesn't seek travel health advice. An increasing number of pharmacies are setting up travel clinics to help change this trend.

Established and operational in over 1,000 UK pharmacies since 2015, the Pharmadoctor Travel Health Clinic Package is proven to be a key asset for pharmacies looking to set up a new travel health service or enhance the service they are already offering.

Men’s health

By signing up to the Pharmadoctor Men's Health Clinic Package you'll be in a position to treat male patients suffering from common conditions like hair loss and erectile dysfunction as well as conduct broader consultations for a range of male health concerns.