Community pharmacy contractors run local community pharmacies. Like GPs, they contract their services and are reimbursed for that service and the medicines they dispense. Community Pharmacy NI (CPNI) is the representative body of the sector.
Around 123,000 people (9% of the population) visit 532 community pharmacies in NI every day equating to 37 million visits each year (compared to 12 million GP visits).
Community pharmacy is the front door of the health service and the safety net of primary careand is embedded in almost every part of the country, including some of our most rural and deprived neighbourhoods, and is staffed by a network of clinically trained professionals who are responsible for the safe dispensing and supply of the majority of medicines prescribed across the Health Service. In addition to this core dispensing function, community pharmacists provide several patient-centred services including a range of public health and medicines optimisation services.
CPNI offers guidance and advice for contractors and community pharmacy teams when dealing with local media requests and engaging with patients. If you need communications assistance or would like to support CPNI communications in the following areas, please email Jude Austin or call 028 9069 0444.
Ways you can support CPNI communications:
Public Affairs
CPNI continues to engage with government officials and political representatives to position community pharmacy at the forefront of health policy.
This resulted in the establishment of the All-Party Group on Community Pharmacy,
Engagement at a local level is extremely effective and we welcome the support of local contractors to help to do this. If you would like to help raise the profile of community pharmacy at a constituency level, please do get in touch.
Case Studies
We are also always looking for ways to highlight the valuable role the community pharmacy team plays in supporting the health and well-being of the local community. If you have any specfic examples of interactions or ways in which services have had a positive impact on a patient, please do get in touch.