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Quality payments: Dementia Friends training

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Quality payments: Dementia Friends training

In her final article in this short series, Dawn Williams, head of customer development at Celesio UK, looks at how pharmacy contractors can meet Quality Payment criteria by getting their workforce on board with the Dementia Friends initiative

As the first Quality Payment review date on 28 April looms ever closer, pharmacies in England are hopefully in line to get the most out of the new funding scheme.

While there’s not long to go, pharmacies still have time to organise some last minute plans to maximise the payment for the pharmacy, as well as to add value to the day-to-day role of the pharmacy team.

One of the simpler Quality Payment criteria on the list of requirements relates to workforce. Let’s remind ourselves of what the requirement is: On the day of the review, 80 per cent of all pharmacy staff working in patient facing roles are trained Dementia Friends.

What is the Dementia Friends initiative and why is it important?

The Dementia Friends programme is the biggest ever initiative to educate people on their understanding and perception of dementia. It aims to influence the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition.

Becoming a Dementia Friend can help your staff to understand the debilitating condition that affects over 850,000 people in the UK. Pharmacies are ideally placed within local communities to support patients living with the condition and their carers so we should maximise the opportunity to support the initiative and build stronger relationships with our patients and customers.

There are a number of small actions, tips and advice that patient-facing staff can learn to help them identify patients living with the condition. This means that everyone in the team is better prepared to provide the right support and make sure your pharmacy is dementia-friendly.

Although the criteria states that 80 per cent of staff must be registered as Dementia Friends, you should encourage all of your team to get involved. As pharmacies, you will interact with people affected by dementia all the time and it’s important that you understand the condition and how you can make a positive difference to people’s lives.

The Workplace Quality Payment criterion is worth £640 to the pharmacy over the two review dates and it couldn’t be easier to achieve.  

What you need to do

Follow these simple steps to meet this requirement:

  • Help your team to understand why becoming a Dementia Friend is so important, and discuss the role that pharmacy can play in tackling dementia
  • Choose from a number of ways in which pharmacy staff can become Dementia Friends. You can access online Dementia Friends resources through their website, and LPCs or local CPPE regional tutors may be holding face-to-face sessions that you can attend
  • Register the pharmacy on the Dementia Friends website
  • Part of becoming a Dementia Friend involves watching two short online videos via your online code (register your organisation to receive a unique code). You can also make a pledge or social commitment to help turn understanding into action
  • Order badges for staff members who have become Dementia Friends
  • Declare you have met the requirement through the NHS BSA online declaration page

Need support?

Support is available from AAH if needed. The Careway Quality Payment Toolkit is design to help you and your teams meet the Quality Payment criteria and maximise your level of funding. AAH is also offering further guidance through its new Pharmacy Funding Hub, available at www.aah.co.uk

Further reading

Read the previous guides in this series for community pharmacies in England, discussing how to make the most of the Quality Payments:

Digital future

Clinical effectiveness and public health

Patient safety

 

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