|
Events
|
|
|
|
11/16/2011
|
|
|
|
|
|
The 2011 Day Lewis Conference in Brighton; Better Every Day
|
 |
|
|
Pharmacists at the 2011 Day Lewis Conference in Brighton were told to carry on caring and have fun in the pharmacy as they attempt to raise standards of health in a new-look National Health Service, writes Neil Trainis...
It could not have been scripted any better. Here was Miles Hilton-Barber, the intrepid adventurer who lost his eyesight in his early 20s and who has spanned the globe embarking on awe-inspiring fund-raising expeditions across deserts, mountains and the polar regions, telling pharmacists they need not fear an inhospitable environment in which to flourish.
“The economy is bad but Kirit (Patel, the Day Lewis CEO) wants you to grow,” he exclaimed, expressing his thoughts through the thrashing around of his arms like a conductor directing a piano concerto. Pharmacists and their staff, Hilton-Barber insisted, should not allow the stresses of work to spill into their personal lives since a pharmacist with a happy personal life is a better pharmacist. Not that he was advocating them to run across the Gobi Desert or fly a microlight aircraft from London to Sydney without the aid of sight, but he challenged them to try new things to maintain their happiness.
“A lot of you are holding back from doing new things in your life,” he said. “When was the last time you did something for the first time? The most effective people in the business world are those with an effective personal life. You can't mix life with work. A proper balance is when you have a real life. A lot of you have stress in your life because it's all work, work, work.”
Revelatory
He proposed the not revelatory idea that, through team bonding exercises outside of the pharmacy, the pharmacy team can be a more effective unit, although what was surprising was his detection that this does not take place to the extent it should. “A lot of you are holding back from doing new things in your life,” he said. It was some motivational speech but pharmacists were quickly persuaded to evolve and move with changing times throughout their stay at the Hilton Hotel on Brighton's seafront.
“Pharmacy will feel it's share of the pain as the government seeks to recoup £20 billion over the next five years,” observed Kirit Patel, the chief executive of Day Lewis, bluntly. “Pharmacy now is very much a service industry. Our staff have responded well, offering a record number of MURs and engaging in the New Medicine Service.”
He insisted staff at Day Lewis, of whom “98% (of customers said they) were satisfied with on our last visit to their branch” in a recent online survey, would enjoy a “generous christmas bonus and wage rise in April.” Kirit, not even attempting to suppress a smile, added: “You deserve it, trust me.” Running in parallel, the insinuation appeared to be that hard work, through a sense of happiness and contentment of course, would see pharmacists' income increase.
The theme for the conference, entitled Better Every Day, was Chicago and many of those in attendance got caught up in the musical's fever on the dancefloor in the evening, having had to concentrate on workshops on subjects such as smoking cessation, dental health and the New Medicine Service.
There is nothing to fear, pharmacists were told, even if there is plenty of scope for improvement. The messages were not new; pharmacists should get their hands dirty with the New Medicine Service and engage with commissioners. Or as Hilton-Barber, that remarkable risk-taker, said, “it's not about avoiding the storm but dancing in the rain.”
“It's not about avoiding the storm but dancing in the rain,” Miles Hilton-Barber
Day Lewis will hit 400 pharmacies in 10 years, says CEO
Day Lewis chief executive Kirit Patel steadfastly insisted that the pharmacy chain will grow from 186 pharmacies to 400 by the end of the next 10-year period.
Illustrating the growth Day Lewis has enjoyed recently, with increased revenue, an expanded product catalogue and product lines and the launch of online facilities including Online Doctor and healthcounter.com, a joint venture between Day Lewis plc and other private investors, Patel said the chain would continie to expand.
“We have 186 at the moment and the target is 200 by next year,” Patel said. “As part of the recession and Category M, we believe we're much stronger. My personal goal is 400 in the next 10 years. That's 250 Day Lewis-owned and 150 (pharmacy) joint venture owned (pharmacies). We will continue to develop and finetune.”
The pharmacy joint venture he referred to is a scheme launched this year to help first-time pharmacy buyers and young pharmacists struggling in the recession buy a shop, with Day Lewis taking a 50% stake in the business in exchange for financial and business support.
Patel revealed that 12 pilots of the joint venture scheme would be up and running before the end of next year so “we can learn from each one and grow,” revealed that Day Lewis pharmacies had achieved “a record number of MURs” this year and added that he would continue to invest in staff training.
“In the last five years there's been very, very little bloodshed. On the contrary, we take people on,” he said. “We're a family-run company and we value the people who work for us. At Day Lewis, the most important people are those who run the shops and we're going to support them more with better training and support.”
He said Day Lewis may take its online offerings to other countries, with India an obvious option, as well as other countries outside Europe.
“On the online side, we have a wider offering and we'll take it international, with other languages, to other countries,” he said, refusing to confirm India as a target despite conceding that the country has a “massive market” for healthcare. “If you look back in 10 years, you'll remember what I've said.”
Pharmacy's genuine care for people invaluable, says intrepid adventurer
The blind adventurer, Miles Hilton-Barber, told Day Lewis pharmacists that their care for people and not their profits will set them apart in a new-look NHS.
Hilton-Barber, who lost his eyesight in his early 20s but has taken on expeditions across the globe including climbing, racing and running across the Gobi Desert to raise money and awareness for blind charities, said pharmacists must never lose that traditional caring touch.
“There's a stress with the government saying 'more for less' but as the population ages, you're going to get more medicines in the pharmacy and the important thing is your genuine care for people,” he said. “You don't need to worry about your profits - worry about the people and they will come to you and the profits will come too.
“If you make your people feel good and special, they'll walk a long way to come to you. When you have a care for people it has an impact.”
Pharmacy can tap into dental opportunities
Dental care provides a great opportunity for pharmacists to prove their clinical judgement beyond dispensing, Sarah Nesbitt, pharmacy training consultant, told the conference.
Using dentine hypersensitivity as an example of a common problem pharmacists can help tackle (the condition affects 1 in 3 people mostly between the age of 20 and 50), she said there are specialist sensitivity products which can be stocked in pharmacies, such as Sensodyne Repair & Protect with NovaMin technology.
“If a patient comes in and says 'what product do I take, I don't know where to start,' this is a good product,” she said, adding that pharmacists can provide key advice in this area. “You can educate people on correct brushing techniques and the change from a regular toothpaste to a specialist de-sensitising toothpaste. Two minutes' brushing per brush is enough to do the job and Department of Health guidelines stipulate brush and spit but don't rinse and eat and rinse.”
Pharmacists must communicate with patients better
Pharmacists must ask the right questions and put patients at ease if they are to make the most of the New Medicine Service, according to Trevor Gore, sales development controller at Reckitt Benckiser.
Suggesting that only 7% of communication is actually through words pharmacists use to patients, he said that body language, the tone of the voice and facial expressions were as important in extracting vital information about a patient's health as asking the right questions.
“Be aware how you're communicating with your patients. Be aware of your patient's mood. If they're depressed, grinning at them may not help,” Gore said. “Adpot the body posture of the other person, pick up their (speaking) tempo. Questioning techniques are important. Use soft or open questions. Closed questions (questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no) give us an easy get-out.”
Pharmacy can play crucial role in smoking cessation
Community pharmacy can play crucial role in helping the 10 million smokers in Britain quit, according to Edward McReynolds, head of training at McNeil Products Ltd.
“Three quarters of those want to stop and only 3% of smokers will succeed in quitting through will power alone,” he said, highlighting Nicorette QuickMist mouthspray as a popular treatment option. “Even a brief intervention can make a difference. Many pharmacists are proud of the difference they can make in smoking cessation.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
