Respiratory Training - Spacers

Community pharmacists can review the patient's inhaler technique and provide advice on the most suitable inhaler/device pathway. Where a pMDI pathway is appropriate and a spacer would benefit the patient, the service enables the pharmacy to supply a spacer through the relevant scheme.

The service brought assessment, spacer provision and inhaler-technique education closer to the patient, using the community pharmacy as an accessible point of care in Somerset ICB.

This provides a practical demonstration that community pharmacy can take a greater role in respiratory optimisation while supporting the wider primary care pathway.

A clearly defined pathway, trained pharmacy staff, appropriate clinical governance, communication with primary care and simple outcome measures provide the foundations for implementing a similar model locally.

The model provides a starting point for other community pharmacies, PCNs and healthcare organisations. Local clinical, commissioning and governance requirements should be considered when adapting the approach.