Pharmacy teams are often the first point of contact for people living with Long Covid, making community pharmacy a vital place for support. To meet this need, CPPE has developed Supporting people living with Long Covid in collaboration with a consortium of universities. This new learning programme is informed by lived experience and backed by research being carried out by the NIHR-funded PHARM-LC study.
The programme aims to build the knowledge, skills and confidence of community pharmacy teams to deliver person-centred support. It covers the common symptoms and risk factors of Long Covid, its impact on daily living and return to work, and strategies to support people through healthy lifestyle choices, talking therapies, breathing exercises and peer networks.
The programme also encourages community pharmacy teams to consider what they can do practically to make services more accessible to people living with Long Covid. Learners will benefit from a practice consultation video and authentic stories from people with lived experience.
One contributor commented, “If something like this was available when I first got sick, I know it would have made a huge difference to my return to work at the pharmacy.”
The programme requires no prior knowledge of Long Covid and provides clear learning outcomes, enabling you to identify risk factors, describe symptoms and demonstrate person-centred consultation approaches.
By completing the programme, pharmacy teams will be better equipped to support individuals in their communities with practical knowledge, compassion and confidence.
This project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme (Grant Reference Number NIHR205384). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
