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Training your team and ensuring everyone’s knowledge is up-to-date are important CPD triggers for you. We suggest that you get the team together for a training session based on the activities below and discuss the various ways in which you can offer customers and patients added care in this category.

Subject: Hayfever

This Train Your Team checklist provides support and information to run a team training session on helping customers cope with hayfever. This content can also be used for your own CPD.

Reflection

• Can my assistants recognise the symptoms of hayfever?
• Do they know that incidence in older people is increasing?
• Can they explain to customers how to prevent hayfever?
• Are my assistants clear on the ages at which different hayfever products can be given?
• Do they understand how the different medications work and their role in hayfever?
• Are they aware that long-standing hayfever sufferers may benefit from advice on changing treatments?
• Do they know which products to recommend when a customer wants one product to treat all his/her symptoms?
• Can we signpost patients to up-to-date sources of information on daily pollen counts?

Training checklist

Ensure your support team understands the following key points about hayfever:

• The condition affects at least 20 per cent (12 million) of the British population
• The reasons for the increase in incidence of hayfever
• Many sufferers are not using the right treatment or are using it incorrectly
• The triggers for hayfever and how to avoid/minimise them
• What new OTC treatments are available
• Types of pollen and when they can cause symptoms
  during the year
• Differences between older and newer oral antihistamines and when to recommend each type
• The indications for topical antihistamines
• When to refer to the pharmacist.

I will:

• Update and revise my knowledge on hayfever (e.g. the NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary for allergic rhinitis: cks.nice.org.uk/allergic-rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis: cks.nice.org.uk/conjunctivitis-allergic
• Consider the possibility of a minor ailment service for hayfever (if appropriate)
• Train my pharmacy assistants to ensure they can meet all the points in this training checklist.