Developing a greater role in improving public health may require a shift in the knowledge, skills and facilities you have in the pharmacy. When reviewing capacity, it is vital to look at the services you hope to provide, as well as the team you have in place to deliver these services.

Space allocation

The first thing to consider is the space you plan to allocate for the public health services you will be providing. In many pharmacies, leaflets and health information are tucked away in a corner that has poor customer traffic, as they are seen as being at the expense of retail space. If you are to take your public health role seriously and be seen to do so by those who commission public health services, you should provide a prominent position for health information campaigns, leaflets and posters in your pharmacy.

You also need to consider whether or not the space you have allocated for your consulting room is sufficient for the services to be provided. While the minimum standards for a consulting room might be sufficient for conducting a medicines use review (MUR) or a new medicine service (NMS), it may not be suitable for the provision of a vaccination service or cholesterol screening.

Equipment and services

A second consideration is to ensure that you have appropriate equipment for the services you wish to provide. A simple consulting room with two chairs and a table will be suitable for MURs and NMS, but what extra equipment would be needed if you are to provide a range of public health services?

Will it be important to have a computer with internet access in the consulting room if data from there is to be recorded into a local database? If you are providing immunisation or a blood testing service, will it be important to have facilities to wash your hands in the consulting room?

If you are producing clinical waste (e.g. from blood testing or immunisation), you will also need to ensure that you have an appropriate service to dispose of this waste effectively and legally.

In addition, you will need to consider the equipment needed for specific services, such as blood pressure monitors (with an appropriate range of cuff sizes), cholesterol testing equipment, smokerlysers, blood glucose testing equipment, etc. While obtaining this equipment is important, the regular quality control and quality assurance of it, along with regular servicing and maintenance, must also be considered. SOPs specific to each piece of equipment should be written and reviewed annually.