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The Community Pharmacy Network Within Northern Ireland

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The community pharmacy network which has evolved throughout Northern Ireland is ideally positioned to help to improve the health and wellbeing of the public (PSNC 2013). Patients are the core of any pharmacy business where pharmacists and technicians seek to enhance the quality and standards of existing services and seek to develop new health services for the benefit of the patient (PJ Online 2010). A pharmacy that decides to launch a new health service will require a well written business plan in order to obtain the necessary financial backing for the service to become a reality (Wilson 2008).
The publication of the Foresight Report in 2007 states that approximately half of the UK population could be obese by 2050 which will cost the British government £50 billion a year (National Obesity Forum 2013). World Health Organisation (WHO) has defined overweight and obesity as “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health” (DHSSPS 2011). A person who is obese has an increase risk of developing chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease (NHS 2014b).

In Swansea, the Howard & Palmer Ltd pharmacy has introduced a weight reduction support clinic in conjunction with the local GP practice. The six month weight reduction programme requires the patient to attend the clinic once a month. Each patient will have a weight management record card to record weight, blood pressure, BMI, waist circumference, blood glucose levels and cholesterol levels.
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