Urgent care

Transcript

The current pressures on the NHS urgent and emergency care system are unprecedented. Urgent or unplanned care leads to at least 100 million NHS calls or visits each year, representing about one third of overall NHS activity and more than half the costs. Approximately one quarter of accident and emergency attendances could have been treated elsewhere.

NHS England is implementing the recommendations of the Keogh Urgent and Emergency Care Review and it is important that pharmacy professionals engage proactively in the development of new urgent and emergency care systems. For those working in community pharmacy, NHS England is developing a national pharmacy urgent care programme linking services to NHS 111 to support people to get the right care in the right place, first time.

Pharmacy teams in all sectors have potential to support the urgent care agenda by raising awareness of existing services, extending those services and being confident about when and where to refer people whose needs are more complex.

Our learning programmes aim to help you understand your role in urgent care and recognise the opportunities to provide effective support for people presenting with urgent care needs.

This is a video-based programme where you will watch experts demonstrating the key phrases, skills and techniques for a person-centred approach to consultations. The interactive activities will help you apply your learning to practice and make best use of the time during a consultation. You will also be able to explain the concept of clinical empathy and how to demonstrate this in practice.

Learning Outcomes:

• apply key phrases to facilitate a patient-centred approach to your consultation
• demonstrate appropriate skills and behaviours to ensure the best use of time in the consultation
• explain the concept of clinical empathy and how it can be demonstrated
• rate consultation skills and techniques more confidently in preparation for the Consultation skills for pharmacy practice assessment.

The aim of this programme is to support pharmacists to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to undertake effective consultations, communications and clinical assessments in order to provide the NHS Pharmacy First service.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• describe the clinical history taking process
• apply tools and techniques to demonstrate a structured person-centred approach to clinical history taking
• apply evidence-based practice and relevant guidance to support clinical reasoning and engage the person in shared decision making, such as NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries
• identify presenting red flags in the consultation to enable safe, effective, 'warm' clinical transfer of the individual
• demonstrate a safe and effective closure to the consultation including safety netting, signposting and referral when necessary
• apply the principles of hygiene and hand washing in a clinical setting
• describe a range of clinical examination skills
• interpret and apply clinical assessment test results and findings to aid clinical diagnosis and decisions
• practice a holistic approach to the care of individuals by promoting self-care and prevention measures in the consultation
• complete an accurate and concise clinical record to support data sharing across healthcare settings and transfer of care.

Please note: This programme is currently being updated.

An online course helping pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and trainee pharmacists deliver the NHS Pharmacy First service, understand NHS 111 referral pathways, support urgent care and develop high‑quality clinical assessment skills.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• summarise the context for reforms to urgent and emergency care in the NHS
• explain the role of community pharmacy in supporting urgent care pathways in the NHS that contribute to better patient experiences and outcomes
• access resources to help you deliver the NHS Pharmacy First service effectively to patients and other healthcare providers
• plan how your pharmacy team will support the delivery of the NHS Pharmacy First service in response to referrals from urgent and emergency care (UEC) settings
• reflect on and identify the skills that you need to develop or enhance to deliver high-quality, person-centred clinical assessments of patients accessing the pharmacy.

In this video-based e-learning programme, we consider the key skills you can use to take an effective clinical history. The programme uses the Calgary-Cambridge guide to take you through the clinical history-taking process and introduces you to tools and resources to help you demonstrate a patient-centred approach to the consultation.

Learning Outcomes:

• describe the clinical history-taking process
• explain the structure of the clinical history consultation
• apply key tools and techniques to the clinical history-taking consultation
• identify how to apply a patient-centred approach to taking a clinical history in practice through video observation
• develop a questioning sheet to use in practice.

Pharmacy professionals, as an integral part of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England: Fit for the Future, are now routinely working in GP practices, care homes, secondary care, community and commissioning within a multi-disciplinary team. This growing infrastructure demands the need for effective communication between healthcare professionals working in different sectors. This programme will support you with documenting in patient clinical records to enable continuity of patient care in integrated local services.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• summarise the legal and regulatory requirements for patient clinical records
• describe the information required for clear, concise and appropriate patient clinical records
• recognise the required structure expected when writing in patient clinical records
• document details of patient consultations and clinical interventions concisely and accurately in patient clinical records.

Excellent communication and consultation skills are a key part of providing safe and effective services. CPPE has developed this set of cards to help all pharmacy staff improve their skills. All members of the pharmacy team should find this resource useful for improving their communication and consultation skills. The cards can be used by individuals, or as a tool to facilitate a training session.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• describe what person-centred care means
• be more confident when communicating with the people who come into your pharmacy
• recognise good communication and consultation skills, compared with those that need improvement
• explain how facial expressions and body language can improve communication and help to build a rapport
• apply good listening skills
• know how to close a consultation effectively and safely
• discuss some of the challenges and barriers to good communication in community pharmacy.

An online course on access and use of Summary Care Records (SCRs) in community pharmacy to support patient care. It defines the NHS policy and context for using SCRs in community pharmacy, and also covers information governance.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• describe the Summary Care Record and its appropriate application in community pharmacy
• apply an appropriate consent process before accessing Summary Care Records
• explain how to maintain secure records for information governance purposes
• document accurate information for consultation recording and follow up
• develop a standard operating procedure governing the use of Summary Care Records in your community pharmacy
• prioritise how you will use Summary Care Records in your practice.

This programme was developed by NHS Education for Scotland to help to update your knowledge and skills on the common clinical conditions and minor ailments that may present themselves in community pharmacy. It contains practical tips and advice on how to identify, recognise and manage a wide range of common conditions.

This version of the programme has been adapted by the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) for use in England.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• recognise common clinical conditions
• describe the clinical management of common clinical conditions
• recognise red flags and points for immediate referral
• describe the key components of self-management strategies.

This e-assessment is linked with the CPPE Summary Care Records in community pharmacy programme and assesses you on the learning outcomes within that programme.

Why should I do this assessment?

This e-assessment is linked with the practice standards for consultation skills and the CPPE consultation skills learning programmes.

Why should I do this assessment?

Access and successful completion of this assessment will contribute to your own personal development plan, be recorded in your My CPPE record and will enable you to complete a CPD entry on the learning. It may also provide evidence for achieving competencies in the different competency frameworks that apply across your career. If you are working towards completing a Declaration of Competence for a pharmacy service, successful completion of this assessment will provide evidence of your learning.

This page will bring together all the PrescQIPP self care resources and campaign materials as well as showcase good practice examples of projects in self care and signpost to self care resources.

If you think you need medical help right now, 111 online can tell you what to do next.

This webpage provides information on the Pharmacy First service, which commenced on 31st January 2024.