NPA announces date for ‘Ask Your Pharmacist Week 2024’

Ask Your Pharmacist Week - This annual event aims to increase awareness of the skills and expertise available in pharmacies across the UK

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has announced that Ask Your Pharmacist Week 2024 will be organised from 4-11 November across the UK.

This annual event aims to raise awareness of pharmacy services and to prompt conversations at a local level about community pharmacy’s role and benefits, the NPA said in a statement.

Ask Your Pharmacist Week encourages local engagement through various activities such as window displays, social media campaigns, pharmacy visits by community dignitaries, presentations to local patient groups, radio phone-ins, and TV.

The week holds a significant place in the pharmacy calendar, as NPA describes “it creates a “platform for public awareness activities that help patients and stakeholders understand more fully the community offers.”

The NPA, which organises the campaign, emphasises the importance of making appropriate use of NHS services and increasing public awareness of the skills and expertise available in pharmacies across the UK.

More details about the next Your Pharmacist Week, including this year’s campaign theme will be published soon, the NPA said.

In the meantime, NPA members or pharmacy stakeholders interested in participating in the campaign are encouraged to reach out to the NPA’s Head of Communications, Stephen Fishwick, at s.fishwick@npa.co.uk.

Last year, Ask Your Pharmacist Week was celebrated from October 30 to November 6, under the theme– ‘Meet Your Local Pharmacy Team’.  It was aimed at informing individuals with the pharmacist’s skill set and the broader community pharmacy workforce, showcasing their collaborative efforts in delivering a secure and efficient service, encompassing NHS clinical care.

The theme of the 2022 campaign, 'Now at Your Local Pharmacy', emphasised the introduction of new NHS services in community pharmacies over the past 2-3 years, reflecting the evolving landscape of pharmacy practice.

The NPA introduced the ‘Ask Your Pharmacist’ campaign in 1983. Since its inception, this collaborative initiative between the pharmacy body and the NHS has aimed to heighten public awareness of UK community pharmacy services and the pharmacist’s role.