Community Pharmacy PCN Engagement Leads

Background

The community pharmacy primary care network (PCN) engagement lead role has been established to support the local implementation of the pharmacy Primary Care Access Recovery Plan (PCARP) requirements, including implementing the Pharmacy First Service and expanding the Blood Pressure Checks Service and Pharmacy Contraception Service.

The role will help develop channels of engagement between community pharmacy and PCNs and build partnership that supports integrated clinical pathways for patients.

The expectation is that the role will function as a point of contact for local community pharmacies and for general practices in the PCN.

By building local relationships between community pharmacy and general practice, the role will help to ensure high quality and appropriate referrals from general practice to community pharmacy and to help troubleshoot any issues about read-write patient records management. The Community Pharmacy PCN Engagement Leads will attend PCN boards and other meetings, as appropriate.

Key responsibilities

• Work across PCNs and integrated neighbourhood teams to best implement and integrate community pharmacy services as part of the pharmacy PCARP delivery plan for the ICB, including aligning clinical pathways.

• Provide support and coordination for the community pharmacies in their PCNs to help them collaboratively develop and implement an approach to engagement with the PCNs.

• Contribute to PCN clinical meetings and other key PCN meetings to represent community pharmacy, as appropriate.

• Work closely with the key members of staff in their PCNs to discuss, understand and be able to describe how community pharmacy can support their PCNs to achieve local targets aligned to national and local NHS priorities.

• Develop relationships and work closely with their PCN clinical directors, PCN pharmacy teams, other community pharmacy PCN engagement leads in neighbouring areas, clinical leaders of other primary care providers, regional community pharmacy clinical leads, health and social care providers, local commissioners and the LPCs.

• Build strong relationships with and between community pharmacies and general practice in the local area empowering them to deliver the agreed vision on a way of working.

• Act as the local community pharmacy champion and voice within place.

• Support and share best practice to ensure consistency of local service delivery linked to ICB / PCN priorities and local population requirements.

• Support and share best practice workforce development.

• Have knowledge base of pharmacies in area and how to work with them.

• Conduit / bridging gap / communications link between providers.

• Work with other leads ensuring consistency, sharing of knowledge, experience and case studies.

Community Pharmacy PCN Engagement Leads