Pfizer has launched a new stage of its campaign to increase use of pharmacies and reduce the burden on GP surgeries and A&E departments. 

The Right Route: Right Care campaign relaunched yesterday (April 9) with posters, leaflets and information leaflets urging patients to use pharmacies for general health advice and treatment of minor ailments.

The promotional material, backed by Pharmacy Voice, uses a traffic light system to help patients decide which service to use: red represents conditions that warrant visiting A&E; yellow is for problems that can be solved by a GP; and green is for conditions that pharmacies are qualified to address.

The campaign originally launched in September, and Pfizer said a survey carried out on 125 people in one pharmacy during its initial phase showed that 17 per cent of visitors had come there because of the campaign. 

Pharmacy Voice chief executive Rob Darracott said pressures on A&E departments this winter highlighted the need to educate people when to use community pharmacies. 

The amount of people attending A&E for minor ailments rose 11 times the rate of the population increase between 2004-5 and 2012-13, according to data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Pharmacists can order copies of Pfizer's promotional material here.The packs also include advice for pharmacists on how to engage with local communities, including developing a presence in local meeting places such as mosques and churches, and how to engage with local media outlets.
 

How can pharmacists encourage patients to visit them instead of A&E departments?

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