Community pharmacists are the experts in over the counter medicines and ‘counter prescribing’ skills are even more critical as the NHS pushes minor conditions towards community pharmacy across the UK. In England, recent NHS England and NHS Clinical Commissioners guidance for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) recommends various minor conditions as being suitable for self- treatment, but to define self care in this limited fashion does it, and you, a disservice.

The Self Care Forum has defined self care as: “The actions that individuals take for themselves, on behalf of and with others in order to develop, protect, maintain and improve their health, wellbeing or wellness.“

Pharmacists and their teams are in the healthcare front line, seeing people when they are healthy, when they choose not to, or cannot easily, visit other healthcare professionals, as well as when they are unwell. So, you are in an ideal place – you do play an integral part in supporting their self care – to help them take action for themselves to protect, maintain and improve their health, wellbeing or wellness.

This could be as simple as checking an individual’s understanding of the information you have given, or providing that information in a written form as back up (for example, through use of the Self Care Forum fact sheets for common conditions), or it could be providing a range of mechanisms for people to gain confidence in the actions they take to keep themselves well, such as setting up discussion or support groups among your patients, or supporting community groups that bring people together in their activities where they include health and wellbeing.

Progressing self care is crucial. It is now seen as a significant solution towards achieving a sustainable health system