Employers must install robust procedures to counter poor OTC advice
Practice Pharmacists have backed calls to tackle poor OTC medicines advice with better staff training, but have stressed that employers must also put more robust procedures in place.
Pharmacists have backed calls to tackle poor over-the-counter (OTC) medicines advice with better staff training, but have stressed that employers must also put more robust procedures in place.
The profession broadly supported the outcome of last week's discussion on the Which? investigation (July 8), which named lack of staff training as a key factor in the damning findings on OTC medicines advice.
This week, Amish Patel, owner of Hodgson's Pharmacy in Kent, agreed staff must complete ongoing training to tackle the problem. There was "a lot of information to take in" during the mandatory counter assistant course, he told C+D, and many assistants needed further support after qualifying.
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"If we had proper funding and systems in place, then the focus would be on staff and patients" Sid Dajani, contractor |
 More on the Which? report
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Mr Patel said training on questioning techniques and products enabled him to trust his team's OTC medicines advice. "If they [the staff] have received appropriate training, they usually know what to do," he explained. "You can have more confidence that they are appropriately referring [to the pharmacist]." |
Poor staff training blamed for substandard OTC adviceContractor and RPS English Pharmacy Board member Sid Dajani said training was important, but working pressures often put a squeeze on learning time.
"The problem is the amount of bureaucracy, red tape and lack of funding makes survival our primary focus," Mr Dajani told C+D. "If we had proper funding and systems in place, then the focus would be on staff and patients, rather than patients and the bottom line."
Contractor and Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham LPC chair Dilip Joshi questioned the emphasis on extra training. "I don't know that another training course would necessarily equip [staff] any better than getting procedures in place," he argued.
Mr Joshi emphasised the need for robust OTC medicines procedures that established which patients should be referred to the pharmacist.
His comments were echoed by Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK president Steve Acres. "Often the pharmacist is the employer and they're responsible for having safe systems of work in place," he told C+D.
"One of the things that isn't happening is performance management," Mr Acres added. "There's a positive aspect to that, which is giving people development plans, keeping their skills up to date and putting in new systems when [medicines] classifications are changed."
At the Which? debate last week, University of Aberdeen senior research fellow Margaret Watson said she had seen many pharmacists fail to adequately communicate with their staff during her qualitative research work.
Counter assistant view
Molly Craig, Medipharmacy, Cliffewoods, Kent C+D Awards Pharmacy Assistant of the Year 2013
"I think it's important for pharmacists to support their staff; counter assistants are the first port of call and they need to feel they've got that support around them.
When a medicine is reclassified, the pharmacists at our branch give us the information booklet to read and we can refer the patient to them the first couple of times if we're unsure.
There are some scenarios where it's difficult to offer advice yourself, such as minor injuries, and then we refer to the pharmacist more than anything.
As long as you have the support, it's fine. If you haven't got the right training or support, it's difficult. I always go to the pharmacist if in doubt because obviously it's someone's health at stake. If the patient is worried, then they will wait for the pharmacist and we will refer to the doctor if that's needed."
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