Seventy south London pharmacy staff celebrated their public health qualifications as part of the healthy living pharmacy (HLP) initiative last week.

NHS Lewisham CCG presented certificates to those who had qualified as healthy living champions over the past few months, in an initiative jointly supported by Lambeth, Southwark & Lewisham LPC. A similar scheme launched in Lambeth last year.

Staff in both areas used C+D Training's Well Being course to gain their Royal Society of Public Health Award.

Thirty of 70 Lewisham's health champions who celebrated their qualification last week	More about healthy living pharmacies Two thirds of NI pharmacies apply for HLP status The secret of HLPs' success Analysis: A healthy growth rate
	""We want to highlight what pharmacies are doing and their achievements. We are looking to raise local awareness of our HLPs," NHS Lewisham CCG's prescribing and medicines management committee chair Dr Rachel Forgan told the health champions at University Hospital Lewisham.

Mike Salter, NHS Lewisham CCG's head of medicine management, highlighted local successes with smoking cessation, vitamin D distribution and a local minor ailments scheme through HLPs.

Mothers were now being signposted to HLPs to pick up vitamins and register for ongoing supply, he emphasised. In addition, the Pharmacy First minor ailment scheme, which was relaunched in 2012 and covers 15 self-limiting conditions, was currently seeing 320 patients a month drawn from 25 local surgeries, helping to relieve pressure on other local services.

To hit their 2013-14 target to encourage 1,800 smokers across the borough to quit, Mr Salter challenged the healthy living champions to each try to get one extra person to quit every fortnight.

Ash Soni, clinical network lead at neighbouring NHS Lambeth, said HLPs provided the opportunity to develop staff to do so much more within their capabilities. "HLP is like a quality kitemark," he said. "Commissioners know it means that pharmacies will deliver."

"I am really proud of every single one of you," he told the healthy living champions. "It is an opportunity for us to see how you can change the health of the population in Lewisham."

The ‘movers and shakers' who have been instrumental in delivering the HLP programme in both Lewisham and Lambeth areas:

Rear left to right: Jayesh Patel, chief executive, Lambeth Southwark & Lewisham LPC (LSL LPC); Dilip Joshi, chair, LSL LPC; Mike Salter, head of medicine management, NHS Lewisham CCG; Dr Donal O'Sullivan, consultant in public health medicine, NHS Lewisham CCG; Ash Soni, clinical network lead, NHS Lambeth; Dr Marc Rowland, chair, NHS Lambeth.

Front left to right: Zehra Safdar, healthy living pharmacy project manager, NHS Lewisham CCG; Kath Howes, prescribing adviser, NHS Lewisham CCG; Sara Mudhar, training development manager, C+D Training; Dr Rachel Forgan, chair, prescribing and medicines management committee, Lewisham CCG; Eileen White, senior pharmacy adviser, NHS Lewisham CCG

Have commissioning groups in your area embraced healthy living pharmacies? Comment below or email us at [email protected] You can also find C+D on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook