NHS Health Checks in pharmacy: Hillingdon’s high performer

(Rishi Verma from Ruislip Manor pharmacy takes a patient through an NHS Health Check)

The context

In recent weeks, Public Health England (PHE) declared that 15 million NHS Health Checks will be delivered between now and 2018/19. In an article with Pulse, Prof Kevin Fenton, Director of Health and Wellbeing at PHE, stated the opportunity this represents for pharmacy:

‘‘What we’re also seeing as local authorities take up leadership of the programme is that they’re beginning to identify other key partners in the primary care family who can also be a part of health checks. This may involve community pharmacies, particular voluntary or community sector providers who can also be involved in the risk assessment and management activities associated with the community.’’

However, in order for pharmacy to make a meaningful contribution to the programme, a proactive and engaged mind set is key. A common discussion topic amongst those who commission and manage the delivery of the NHS Health Checks has been ‘what level of value can pharmacy bring to a health check delivery network?’

The answer is that it depends entirely on how committed and enthusiastic the pharmacies are. The variation in performance can be wide, however when done well pharmacy carries the potential to be an incredibly valuable weapon in the public health arsenal.

Making it happen in Hillingdon

Of the 20 pharmacies delivering the health checks across the London borough of Hillingdon last financial year, a standout performer was Ruislip Manor pharmacy. The person responsible for driving the CVD assessments is Rishi Verma, the pre registration student at the pharmacy.

Of all the health checks conducted in the pharmacy last year – of which there were well over a hundred – the overwhelming majority were done when Rishi began working in the pharmacy and took it upon himself to champion the health checks.

‘Every interaction is an opportunity’ Rishi explained; ‘delivering the health checks can be really rewarding and they’re great for building patient rapport... Crucially, if you offer someone good care, they’ll keep coming back to you.’

The impact of Rishi taking responsibility for the checks underlines how important strong leadership is at every stage of health check delivery. Regardless of if you're commissioning the service or delivering the checks, the success of the programme depends hugely on energised individuals taking the reins.

‘It’s about creating an atmosphere of positivity and opportunism’ said Rishi. ‘The pharmacy team all got on board and found potential patients in the client group. This gave us a good cohort to target. Additionally however, if anyone comes into the pharmacy and they’re over the age of 40, I let them know that there’s a brilliant scheme to help them find out their risk of developing cardiovascular disease. What surprises a lot of people is if I tell them that the same test done privately could cost the upwards of £80.’

Rishi openly admits that he’s obsessively driven to do the best he can possibly achieve; so much so that he’s taken it upon himself to go round local businesses handing out leaflets during his lunch hour. One particularly motivating factor was identified as a training day that was run by Health Diagnostics last year. ‘We were really enthused by the PCT meeting where the agenda was set and the staff trained’ explained Rishi.

Going forward, Rishi has big ideas for hosting community events in his locality: ‘I’ve even engaged a local library where I’ve been delivering health checks. The libraries have community targets to meet so I said to them that I’d come in and deliver the assessments for a day; all they’ve needed to do is promote the event.’

Having championed the checks at Ruislip Manor and completed a university project on public health which fit closely with the NHS agenda, Rishi has accumulated some valuable learning. For those providers who’d are looking for advice on how to boost your numbers, Rishi has a series of recommendations:

-  Mention it to anyone and everyone that looks eligible

-  Have yourself a ‘pitch’ at the ready

-  Stick your individual pharmacy stamps on the leaflets so that people register your venue as the place to get checked

-  Word of mouth can work wonders. Tell people to inform their loved ones who may be eligible

-  Pharmacies can use MURs to determine eligible clients

-  Maximise any community events that go on in the area. Ruislip pharmacy, for example, do well off the back of the local fun day that runs twice a year where local businesses open up a stall on the main street

If pharmacy is to ‘stand up and be counted’ in the reformed NHS – as Chemist and Druggist put it in an article published in April – this kind of innovative and ambitious approach will need to be exploited by pharmacists everywhere. And with PHE aiming to do 15 million NHS Health Checks, the opportunity is certainly there for those that want to make a name for themselves and their business.

Sanjay Doegar, the pre registration tutor at Ruislip Manor had this to say: 'Rishi's performance in health checks is outstanding and his drive to bring on new services has been exemplary. Through his actions we have successfully taken on the free condom service a key performance target for both prevention of STI and teenage pregnancy. We are also a high performer in the Chlamydia screening service.'

(Rishi Verma and Sanjay Doegar at Ruislip Manor)