Changing the pharmacy experience
People experiencing a mental illness such as depression or anxiety, and their family members or carers, are being sought to take part in a Queensland university study to ensure consumers get the best out of their medicines.
Pharmacy assistant, Teresa Procter, with consumer Guy Dorries.
The Mental Health and Community Pharmacy Project is funded by the federal government’s Department of Health as part of the Fifth Community Pharmacy Research and Development Program managed by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
Aligned with the federal government’s focus on mental health, the project assists pharmacy staff to improve their skills to work with mental health consumers.
Teresa Proctor, manager at Meadowlands Pharmacy in Carindale, attended the Mental Health and Community Pharmacy workshop in Brisbane last November and says it is a highly beneficial experience.
“We like to offer our customers a highly personalised service where they can come in and have a bit of a chat with us about what’s going on in their lives. Therefore, when the chance arose to do this workshop, I thought it would be a great opportunity to pick up some more tips and further enhance our service,” Ms Proctor says.
“The people coming in for consultations may have mental health issues such as depression and schizophrenia and as part of what we provide, we may talk about a range of issues concerning their medications. However, conversations often go off-track too and we sometimes end up having chats with family members about the challenges of caring for elderly relatives.”
So far, Ms Proctor and her team are seeing about six customers who have agreed to come into the pharmacy on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
“In a quiet area of the pharmacy we work out together simple strategies to manage their medicines. Generally feedback has been positive, with everyone stating that they benefit from being able to talk about how to get the best from their medications,” she says.
Ms Proctor says the biggest thing she has learnt from being a part of the program so far, is to not be overly reactive to what people have to say.
“I myself have experience of looking after an elderly relative who can be difficult at times and opposed to receiving advice regarding medication. Therefore, when I hear this type of thing from people, I try to draw on my own personal experience of how tough things can be and try not to be too judgemental.
“The program is a great way of ensuring consumers get the best out of their medicines and I am hopeful that we will be able to recruit more people in due course, as well as get carers more involved.”
For more information, call 1800 600 687 or email mentalhealth@griffith.edu.au
