About Community Pharmacy South Central
Continuously improving the quality of care we give patients and improving the outcomes of their treatment is the core purpose of the new NHS commissioning system.
The latest news
Information on training events and resources available for you and your team
The COVID-19 pandemic has put extra pressure on people working in the community pharmacy sector. Here we provide you with a summary of available help and support for pharmacy teams.
We are on the frontline, providing care, compassion and reassurance to others each day, but it's also very important to make sure we do not overlook or neglect our own mental health and wellbeing at this time.
The free and confidential services and resources listed here offer a helping hand to those who find themselves confronted by difficult circumstances, for whatever reason.
Assistance is provided in many forms, on a short or long term basis and is specifically tailored to an individual’s situation.
CPSC has categorised the resources available as follows:
Supporting NHS people and helping you manage your own health and wellbeing whilst looking after others
The NHS People site is continually updating its content with support and resources for all NHS staff, including those working in and for primary care.
As well as hosting details of the primary care coaching offer, the site has published guidance on:
Please do share these tools widely with your team and remind them of the free wellbeing apps available to all primary care NHS staff:
You can access the 'NHS People' website by clicking the image below:
A team across NHSX, NHS Digital, NHS England and NHS Improvement is working to identify a number of digital tools to support children, young people and adults who are experiencing increased mental health needs as a result of COVID-19, disrupted education or end of year exams.
Healios, the first supplier to complete the process for its ThinkNinja app, has now made this app available to download free of charge to all 10-18 year olds until the end of September.
There are already over 20 existing apps already approved on the NHS Apps library for users to choose from:
* Please note that some of the apps are not free.
The NHS frontline primary care colleagues involved in the delivery of Primary Care services, both clinical and non-clinical, are facing unprecedented challenges through COVID-19. To help all staff delivering frontline primary care services feel supported to maintain their psychological wellbeing during this time, a new service is available, thanks to 'Our NHS People'. Individual coaching support is available with a highly skilled and experienced coach. This will be a space for you to offload the demands of whatever you are experiencing and be supported in developing practical strategies for dealing with this.
You can access the 'Looking after you too' website by clicking on the image below:
The 'Access to Work Mental Health Support Service' is delivered by Remploy on behalf of 'Access to Work' across England, Scotland and Wales. Support is available to individuals who are:
This service is of no cost to the organisation or its employees and complements any Occupational Health scheme or Employee Assistance Programme an organisation already has in place.
The service is delivered by a team of Vocational Rehabilitation Consultants (VRCs) who are fully trained professionals with expertise in mental health and its impact in the workplace.
This tailored support includes:
You can access the 'Access to Work Mental Health Support Service' by clicking on the image below:
Further useful links are:
The Community Outreach department with Rehab4Addiction serves as an online resource to those dealing with substance addiction
They have now created the following website page 'COVID-19 and mental health guide' which is a useful read or signposting resource to use in your professional practice.
For more information please see the following CPSC News article:
A center accredited by The Joint Commission considered to be "The Gold Standard" of rehabilitation care.
Our organisation knows everyone’s situation is unique and deserves personalised, evidence-based treatments.
COVID-19 has impacted the lives of many in 2020. Unfortunately, that also includes the increase of those struggling with substance abuse and mental health by a staggering 40 percent according to the CDC. For that reason, we created the following resource page that shares valuable information for those seeking help while battling addiction and co-occurring conditions:
On this website page, you’ll find information on:
Pharmacist Support is an independent, trusted charity providing a wide variety of support services to pharmacists and their families, former pharmacists and pharmacy students. They listen, without judgement, and compassionately encourage and empower people to create positive change.
Pharmacist Support provide a range of free and confidential support tailored to meet your specific needs.
You can access the Pharmacist Support website by clicking on the image below:
Many more of us are finding ourselves working from home and following the national advice around staying in. To help adapt to this new way of working, Nadia Kuftinoff - Wessex AHSN Innovation Adoption Specialist, has written a useful set of hints and tips.
This is a light-hearted guide, so hopefully may also cheer you in these challenging times. You can download Nadia's guide by clicking on the image below:
Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society.
Action for Happiness helps people take action for a happier and kinder world. The group provide ideas and resources to enable people to take action at home, at work or in their community.
You can find out more by clicking on the image below:
Action for Happiness is a Registered Charity (1175160) and Company Limited by Guarantee (10722435) in England and Wales.
How do you react to unexpected difficulties?
Resilience is the process of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences. Resilient people overcome adversity, bounce back from setbacks, and can thrive under extreme, on-going pressure without acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways. The most resilient people recover from traumatic experiences stronger, better, and wiser.
Take the following short quiz to check out your resiliency:
Produced by the 'Al Siebert Resiliency Center'
Public Health England (PHE) has launched a Psychological First Aid (PFA) training module, aimed at all frontline and essential workers and volunteers. The course aims to increase awareness and confidence to provide psychosocial support to people affected by COVID-19.
PFA is a globally recognised training in emergency situations, and PHE have developed this new course as part of their national incident response, and with the support of NHS England and Health Education England.
The course is free, and no previous qualifications are required. By the end of the course, outcomes will include:
To join the course, please click the following link:
Most managers are members of the team they manage. This creates tension between the need to complete your own work and the need to manage the rest of the team.
This eLearning course helps managers to balance these two roles, manage their team’s workload and delegate effectively. It takes you through how to successfully communicate at different levels within your organisation as well as how to avoid or manage conflict within your team.
To enrol on this PCC course, please click the following link:
* This course is not free, cost of enrolment: £75
YoungMinds is a leading charity for young person’s mental health support.
They run a parents helpline, which offers free advice and support to any adult who’s worried about the behaviour or mental health of a young person. And they offer training and consultancy to professionals who work with children – including teachers, doctors and mental health services.
Their website provides a huge amount of information and support.
To access YoungMinds visit:
The Health Innovation Network South London have produced materials and resources to help you positively impact staff physical and mental health.
Top Tips:
You can access 'Only Human' and read more tips from the HIN South London colleagues by clicking on the image below:
Public Health England has launched a major new adult health campaign to help kick start our health to eat better and get active.
COVID-19 has affected the whole country; for almost everyone, life has had to fundamentally change. But it has also prompted many people to reflect and think more seriously about their health.
The Better Health campaign will start by supporting individuals on their weight loss journey. There is a brand-new 'Better Health' webpage available at:
This provides tools to help people manage their weight loss including:
Resources for community pharmacies to be able to support this campaign are available on the following PHE Campaign Resource centre website pagenby clicking on the image below:
Additional reading:
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted a dramatic change on individuals. There have been major changes to everyones day to day routines and people have reacted and coped to these changes in many different ways. The impact short term has been easier to see, however the longer term changes to people and how we behave socially going forward will also be fundamentally changed.
The following reports provide a view of important issues that need to be considered going forward to ensure that the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people are catered for to ensure more positive mental health outcomes for those at risk.
