Wessex HIEC receives outstanding feedback from Hampshire & IOW LPC

Wessex HIEC receives outstanding feedback from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Local Pharmaceutical Committee 

During 2012 and 2013, Wessex HIEC worked with the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Local Pharmaceutical Committee to create a number of training podcasts in emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) and chlamydia screening for their members.

The LPC’s Chief Officer, Sarah Billington, said, “The chlamydia screening and EHC podcasts have transformed our service provision in Hampshire.”

“Prior to the chlamydia screening and EHC podcasts, the accreditation process was a  barrier to effective service provision. Accreditation relied upon the Hampshire PCT team putting on training which was expensive and time consuming and  resulted in training being available only very infrequently. The pharmacies and the counter staff were required to attend these face to face training events usually  held during the working day, which caused difficulties for pharmacies as they had to arrange locums and of course cost the pharmacies money for travel and backfill. The service had stalled in many pharmacies as staff turnover meant  them being without trained staff and unable to get new staff accredited.”

“Having the training and accreditation process on line using podcasts has transformed the whole process and service provision has increased both in terms of the numbers of pharmacies signed up to deliver the service ( nearly double) but also the numbers of pharmacists and counter staff within  those pharmacies able to  deliver the service. Now any new staff can be quickly trained and accredited (at no extra cost to either the commissioner or the provider)  to provide the service which means better access and better availability of  service for patients, which is what it is all about.”

“Without the podcasts I doubt we would a fraction of the pharmacies providing this service across Hampshire. It is likely to be used by the rest of our area as the accreditation and training method of choice.”

Kevin Brooks, Wessex HIEC’s Knowledge Programme Manager, said, “We’re delighted by the success of the training  podcasts created for the LPC. 379 pharmacists received the EHC training online and carried out the final assessment to receive their certification.”

“The EHC and chlamydia screening podcasts have become one of the most viewed video suites on our website, demonstrating the rapid knowledge transfer and convenience that online audio-visual learning can bring. It’s been a pleasure to work with the LPC on these projects and we are continuing our productive relationship with more innovations in the pipeline.”

64 pharmacists in the LPC network across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were contacted for their feedback on the podcasts; 19% responded.