The evaluation of the Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) programme in England highlighted the vital role that pharmacy teams play in supporting people with health and wellbeing advice and delivering successful services. So what is the HLP secret and how can every pharmacy learn from its success?

Emergency hormonal contraception

An emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) service is being delivered in around two-thirds of Healthy Living Pharmacies (HLPs), according to the evaluation into the HLP pathfinder programme. And once again, the results of the evaluation into this service show a positive response from customers. 

The overall results showed that young women were content to access EHC services from community pharmacies and that HLPs delivered more EHC services and associated sexual health services than non-HLPs or before implementation of HLP. For example, in Buckinghamshire, condom supply increased by 13 per cent and discussion of chlamydia screening increased by six per cent. And in Stoke-on-Trent, there was a 29 per cent increase in chlamydia screening.

While some services require the pharmacist’s input, the first point of contact is usually the Health Champion or another member of the pharmacy support team. The EHC service is dependent on requests from customers, so promoting the service, as well as the other sexual health support available, is important. And there are many new and innovative ways to do this. For example, a pharmacy team in South Staffordshire went to a local university to give a talk on chlamydia awareness.

There are a number of ways that Health Champions and pharmacy staff can help to deliver an EHC service. Top tips include:

• Remember that sexual health can be a difficult or embarrassing conversation for customers. Be sensitive to this and try to build a rapport with the customer – simple techniques such as matching someone’s body language, coming out from behind the pharmacy counter to remove that barrier and being respectful of personal space can all help
• Use effective questioning to start the conversation and don’t forget to listen to people’s answers. The NPA has launched a suite of scratch cards, including one on chlamydia, which can be a useful tool to help people understand the effects of certain lifestyle choices
• Recognise that some people may wish to talk privately, so be aware that your conversation may be overheard at the pharmacy counter and offer the customer the opportunity to talk in a quieter area or in the consultation room.

More information

NPA members can watch a short video clip on how to engage in conversations about potentially embarrassing subjects by visiting: NPAtv.