Pharmacy Voice has welcomed a report by the University of Central Lancashire and Liverpool John Moores University which highlights the potential of community pharmacy in delivering high quality identification/brief advice (IBA) service for alcohol.
The report ‘Understanding and optimising an identification/brief advice (IBA) service about alcohol in the community pharmacy setting – Evaluation Results’ focused on six areas in the North West of England where 94 pharmacies have been piloting IBA.
Rob Darracott, Chief Executive of Pharmacy Voice said:
“The report highlights the significant contribution pharmacies can make in reducing risky alcohol use – a major priority within Government public health policy. The evaluation found that pharmacy is ideally placed to deliver alcohol advice and patients are happy for interventions to take place in the pharmacy. This compelling evidence that pharmacy can play an important part in delivering an alcohol IBA as part of its role in public health needs to be built on. The recommendation that a common specification should be developed chimes well with our calls for the setting of national service specifications, and the Pharmacy & Public Health Forum should think about building on this work as a national exemplar of what might be possible, and bringing in the experience from elsewhere, notably the Audit-C screening scratch card used on the South coast. The evaluation team have given us a lot to work with, as have the pharmacy teams across the North West in pioneering the service.”
Eric Appleby, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern said:
“These pharmacies are to be congratulated. People are often unaware of what ‘risky drinking’ actually is. Community pharmacies see more people more often than any other healthcare professional so are well placed to support and advise people.”
The report was conducted by:
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, UCLan
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University
- Representatives of pharmacy providers (Liz Stafford from Pharmacy Voice);
- Senior public health pharmacy experts (Prof Alison Blenkinsopp from University of Bradford and Prof Janet Krska from the Universities at Medway)
- Experts in mapping and understanding alcohol use and misuse (Dr Penny Cook from University of Salford & Prof Derek Heim from Edgehill University)
- Alcohol public health specialist (Steve Morton, NHS Blackpool)
The research can be read in full by visiting https://clok.uclan.ac.uk/5972/.
