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The public awareness campaign for community pharmacy, 'Ask Your Pharmacist Week' this year will be on 31 October - 7 November, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has announced. Every year AYP Week is held across the UK, with an aim to raise awareness of pharmacy services and to prompt conversations with key stakeholders at a local level about community pharmacy's role and benefits. Activities in previous years have ranged from public exhibitions and window posters to social media campaigns, projects with patient groups and visits to pharmacies from local dignitaries and politicians. NPA Head of Communications, Stephen Fishwick, said, "AYP Week is an important fixture in the pharmacy calendar, as it creates a space for focused public awareness activities to help customers, patients and stakeholders understand more fully the community pharmacy offer. We want people to be more aware of long-standing and new NHS services plus the skills and expertise on offer in pharmacies across the UK. AYP also aims to cultivate a richer dialogue with key stakeholders, which in England now includes leaders in Integrated Care Systems."

Northern Ireland's chief pharmaceutical officer paid a visit to a community pharmacy in Belfast on Monday (November 7) - marking the end of this year's Ask Your Pharmacist week, an annual public awareness campaign launched by the National Pharmacy Association. Cathy Harrison interacted with patients and staff in the pharmacy before recording a video to promote NI's 'Pharmacy First' service in which she described community pharmacies as "one of the front doors to the health service" with over 500 outlets located across the country. "In our community pharmacies you can always rely on friendly staff, medicines expertise, and walk-in access to face-to-face advice," she said. First launched in Scotland, the NHS Pharmacy First service enables patients to have a consultation with a pharmacist for advice on minor ailments. Ms Harrison also drew attention to community pharmacy's role in cancer awareness and helping people to quit smoking, as well as managing patients with urinary tract infections, in addition to playing their part in delivering Covid-19 and flu vaccinations.

The large majority of adults in the England knew that flu jabs are available in many pharmacies, just over half were aware of the GP Community Pharmacist Consultation Service or the New Medicine Service, according to a new survey by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). The new survey revealed the need to raise the public awareness of key NHS services such as the New Medicine Service. According to the survey, 56 per cent of those asked believed that pharmacies in England offer NHS consultations for people newly prescribed a medicine for a long-term condition. While 48 per cent believed that many pharmacies in England offer blood pressure monitoring (NHS or private). 51 per cent believed it to be true that GPs can formally refer patients for same-day clinical advice from their local pharmacist about minor ailments.