Pharmacies need to take the reins when it comes to building local relationships, writes Shilpa Shah

In community pharmacy I still hear us talk about Covid. Although I’m trying to move away from that, I do believe the pandemic was the pivotal change for many relationships between community pharmacy and other stakeholders, in particular general practice teams. 

That in-person contact was suddenly cut off overnight and somehow, we’ve found it challenging to get back to that in many cases. 

When I first qualified as a pharmacist, the company I worked for was keen that teams in pharmacies build good local relationships. Mainly with GP teams, but also with local drug and alcohol units, smoking cessation teams etc. I still remember the shiny new folder that arrived in the red post bag with hints and tips on how to build local relationships. The folder had a page for all key contacts, which was so useful for new staff and locums. 

After that, whenever I started in a new pharmacy as a manager one of the first things I did was visit the GP surgeries (and other stakeholders) locally and introduce myself. I placed particular importance on meeting the receptionist, who we all know is the most important person in general practice!

This was as necessary as getting to know the store team and the pharmacy’s regular patients. I’m not sure that this happens anymore – at least not consistently. Granted, there is now higher staff turnover both in the pharmacy and the surgery, but that just makes it all the more important.

Take out the middle man

I often get emails from both pharmacy and general practice, each raising minor annoyances with the other sector. They ask me to intervene, but it would save so much time if they just popped in to see each other face-to-face to clear up the issue quickly. Especially as they are often just a few doors away. 

I’m a big fan of working from home and virtual working – it creates such efficiency. However, we must accept that relationship building suffers without those quick ‘water cooler’ chats. You can’t read a person’s body language over email, and sometimes their tone gets lost in translation.

Pharmacy teams don’t have the privilege of working from home. Some colleagues in GP can and do work from home, often as there is not enough space for all the ARRS staff. Again, this makes getting to know people that bit harder.  

Pre-ARRS, staffing in GP was linear. You had the receptionist and the doctors, occasionally a nurse. Now we have GP pharmacists and PCN pharmacists (both slightly different but nobody really understands what the difference is). 

When community pharmacists want to contact someone in the surgery, they are normally pushed towards the GP or primary care network pharmacist, but this doesn’t help build the relationship with the doctor, and often the pharmacist doesn’t have the ability to influence change in the surgery. 

The practice manager role has become more prominent in the past few years, so it’s worth reaching out to them. Traditionally, the roles and responsibilities of various staff members were easier to understand and was very similar and consistent across different areas. 

As PCNs work in different ways this is no longer the case – another reason it’s important to get to know the teams locally to you, what they all do and establish ways of working as well as good communication methods.

Season's greetings

What can you do in your pharmacy to build relationships? Luckily, it’s that seasonal time of the year – Christmas. A time when you could take in a box of biscuits (or a basket of fruit) and a card to all the local surgeries.

It’s a good way of making initial contact if you have not already done so and a good way of establishing relationships if you have already made contact and know your surgery well. Set up a catch-up date for January when you do this, to go back and talk about working collaboratively. 

Have a contact list in your pharmacy of all the staff in the surgery including their roles and contact details. Ensure your staff use this and that the list is kept updated. Send the surgery a list of your key team members and contact details. Replicate this list for other organisations in your local area. 

Relationship building is a skill that most pharmacists and their teams already have. It’s part of working in a local community; you get to know your patients, neighbouring businesses, local schools, places of faith etc. 

I’ve mainly focused on surgeries here, but these are transferrable skills that can and should be used with others like opticians, dentists, public health teams, MPs and many others. 

Start with one group that you want to prioritise and pop in to get the conversation started and get that date for a catch up early 2025 booked in. Good luck!

Shilpa Shah is chief executive of Community Pharmacy North East London. She writes in a personal capacity.