Healthy living
Medicines and supplements
Pharmacy update August 2008
The latest news on medicines and pharmacies from Ailsa Colquoun
Pharmacies take on drinkers...
Pharmacies in Wirral are helping patients to beat binge drinking in a ground-breaking local initiative. In the service, believed to be the first of its type in the country, local people can walk into a pharmacy and air any worries they may have about their own, or other people’s drinking. The service, which is already available in the area’s GP surgeries, aims to provide people with the chance to talk about their drinking in a relaxed, confidential environment. Patients wanting to take part will be asked to complete a 10-question questionnaire about their alcohol consumption, from which trained pharmacy staff will be able to assess whether a customer is a 'safe', 'hazardous' or 'harmful' drinker, and to offer or refer the person to the Wirral Alcohol Service, as necessary. Participating pharmacies then follow up the consultation with a call to check whether patients still have worries or need further help.
So far, 56 pharmacies have signed up to offer the service, and it is hoped that all 86 local pharmacies will be participating by 2010. Wirral has the fourth highest number of alcohol-related hospital admissions in the UK and the aim is to make the service available from all local pharmacies. Alcohol misuse costs the health service between £1.4 and £1.7 billion per year, according to NHS statistics.
- Booze boosts bowel cancer risk
- Years of living dangerously: are there any ways to reduce the harmful effects of bad habits?
...And smokers
In Scotland, pharmacists are also stepping up efforts to reduce smoking rates. A new service is being offered in which every smoker wanting to quit will be able to receive advice and appropriate stop smoking products on prescription. Patients exempt from prescription charges will not have to pay for products supplied.
In Dundee, pharmacists are also paying smokers £12.50 in food credits for each week they remain smoke-free. In an innovative project, starting by the end of September, 22 pharmacies will supply nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and offer weekly carbon monoxide breath tests to smokers in key identified at-risk groups. These include people aged 45-64 years already identified as living in local areas of social disadvantage, and smokers aged over 16 if referred by a GP. If participants can show they are still smoke-free, they will receive £12.50 in credits, to be used to pay for fresh food and groceries. They will also receive physical activity and other lifestyle advice and support, such as cardiovascular and diabetes screening, and referral to appropriate specialists.
- Smoking: your guide to giving up
- Smoking: good reasons to give up
- Smoking: stay stopped one day at a time
- Smoking: take the pain out of quitting
- The anti-smoking drug
NHS - not open all hours
Nearly one in five UK people are unhappy about their GP surgery opening hours. In the second GP Patient Access Survey, which reveals the picture of patient satisfaction and experience with GPs, 18% of the two million UK NHS users polled said they were unhappy because the practice was not open on a Saturday or late enough in the evening.
The 2008 results represent a slight decline on last year’s public satisfaction with GP surgery access ratings, when only 16% of NHS users were unhappy with their access to a GP. As a result of the findings, the Government has pledged to look at ways that organisations such as pharmacies and community health clinics can provide health services on a more accessible basis.
- How to make the most of your eight minutes with the GP
- Questions to ask your doctor about specific conditions
- Ask our online GP a question
Beware ginkgo
People should be discouraged from using ginkgo without medical supervision, according to an NHS-led systematic review that assessed reports of bleeding linked to the supplement. In most of the cases studied, the patients also had existing risk factors for bleeding, such as age and/or the use of other medicines known to increase the risk of bleeding. However, experts say that because there is very little conclusive evidence supporting the use of ginkgo, and the serious nature of the potential harm, all patients should avoid gingko, unless their doctor says otherwise. There might be an increased risk of bleeding if ginkgo is combined with antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs, including low-dose aspirin.
- A guide to gingko biloba
- The A-Z of herbal remedies
- Know your painkillers - aspirin, paracetamol and ibuprofen
- Stress: what it does to your body
More news from the pharmacy
Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
