SCAS: A perfect weekend for Pharmacy Referrals

South Coast Ambulance Service (SCAS) provide the 111 service for Hampshire, West Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Over the weekend of 5^th and 6^th of October they will be running an exercise to increase Community Pharmacy and Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) referrals.

There are various communications and education resources and briefings going to 111 staff ahead of this, with on the day management support including floorwalkers and quality assurance coach support, including additional support from a pharmacist to give the team that extra assurance to make the right choice.

Although they are running this exercise, please be reassured that SCAS have embedded referral to Pharmacy services as a high priority. SCAS have made Pharmacy training mandatory for all 111 team members and refreshed yearly.

The biggest negative the 111 team experience with Pharmacy referrals is patients who have been referred, telling them the pharmacist has told them to ring 111 rather than the pharmacy using the healthcare professional non-public number to refer the patient back for another part of the service i.e. to see/ speak to a prescriber.

The number can be found on the NHS service finder or on the newsletter on Friday 4^th October.

• NHS Service Finder