• 1. Do you offer a Pharmacy Health Check service?
• 2. Ensure that all staff involved are suitably trained

• 3. Supplying prescription only treatments as part of your service’
• 4. What equipment and consultation room set up is required
• 5. Prepare the key service documents
• 6. Manage appointments – use a service booking diary

• 7. GP engagement for signposting to weight management and other pharmacy services’
• 8. Grow your online presence and reach a wider audience through our trusted partner Pharmacy Mentor (Find out more)

Community pharmacies can already support patients with their weight management in a number of ways. While you are getting staff trained and setting up your premises with suitable equipment, we recommend you start by simply offering appropriate over-the-counter healthy living advice (all trained pharmacy support staff can do this) or through a weight management or hypertension health check service. This assists patients to identify if they are at a healthy weight or not.

As part of such a service, the trained member of the team would advise the next steps, which could range from support with behavioural changes and goal setting to medicated weight management, allowing you to begin supporting your patients.

Any member of the pharmacy team may be the first point of contact for a patient requesting advice and support relating to weight management, therefore it is important. They should also be trained on the key points about the services you offer in the pharmacy, including price, consultation times/process and booking process, so they are able to advise patients appropriately.

Our Training page, provides guidance about what training is available to pharmacists and pharmacy support staff.

In order for you to provide a suitable weight management service, you must ensure that you have the correct equipment. This includes:

• A private consultation room that has appropriate space for an obese patient to enter without feeling uncomfortable
• A sturdy chair without armrests
• Measuring tape
• Class III medical weighing scales with a capacity of 150kg and of suitable size for an obese patient to stand on. You can obtain these here.
• Stadiometer to measure height – You can obtain these here.

The NPA has developed resources including a template letter to GPs to assist you in delivering weight management and obesity service.

GP letter template:

• Weight Management & Obesity Service Referral Letter to GP [Template]

SOP and guides for Pharmacy staff engagement with weight management and obesity services

This SOP shows suggested steps that different members of the pharmacy team can engage in, with the service. This must be tailored to each pharmacy.

The Training matrix can be used to ensure that each member of staff has carried out the suggested training, in order for you to be satisfied with their competence, before engaging with patients/customers.  Please adapt the matrix according to your pharmacy’s service outline.

• SOP for weight management service
• Training matrix for branch staff
• A Guide to taking measurements

To smoothly manage appointments for your services, you can use the appointment booking systems, such as the one available from the NPA’s trusted partner Charac

For more information please click here.

Working in harmony with local GPs is of particular importance for weight management and obesity services, as some GP patients may not qualify for NHS-funded medicated weight management services.

This GP letter template may be used to advise your local GP practices of the services you offer in your pharmacy so that they can signpost patients to them.

The GP engagement guidance document advises on the best steps to take to successfully engage with your local GP practice.

• • GP Engagement Letter Template
  • How to engage your GP practice with your pharmacy services

To achieve a successful and profitable service, it is important that you promote your service to patients/customers well. This can be through engagement of customers by staff during transactions or health promotion campaigns. Visual engagement through posters, leaflets, pharmacy tv screen displays and website banners also play an important part in promotion of the service. To support with this, you can access a range of marketing materials via our business partners, Pharmadoctor , if you are using its Weight Management Service eTool. This includes a patient leaflet, posters, social media posts and videos.

You can also grow your online presence and reach a wider audience through our trusted partner Pharmacy Mentor (Find out more).

Please ensure that you are familiar with the Specialist Pharmacy Services (SPS) guidance on the use of PGDs, which can be found here.

We also recommend that you are familiar with the MHRA Blue Guide which aims to provide guidance on advertising and promoting medicines. This can be found here.

You may also find it useful to read NICE guidelines on the use of PGDs, which can be accessed here and the MHRA guidance on ‘who can use a PGD’ which can be accessed here.

If you are based in Northern Ireland, we recommend you refer to PSNI’s professional standards when advertising medicines and professional services. These can be found here.

If you are based in Scotland, please read the ‘Best Practice Statement PGDs’ from Healthcare Improvement Scotland, which can be found here.