Yesterday (Wednesday 25th March 2015) CPNY hosted the first of five training events across various CCG areas.

The first one took place within the Vale of York at The Parsonage Hotel and Spa, Escrick and was packed full of pharmacy staff from different pharmacies in the area. They all encourage as many people as possible to attend an event like they did and leave with new found knowledge.

Public Health England has named dementia as one of its high-level priorities for 2014/15; in recognition of the important role public health can play in the delivery of better dementia care and support. You will have also noticed that the government recently announced extra funding in order to train all health workers in this area.

The training events detailed below will explore the role of the pharmacy team in regards to supporting people with dementia; and will also make North Yorkshire Community Pharmacy a centre of excellence for dementia identification, care and support.

By attending one of our events you will attain a greater awareness of dementia and be able to offer practical support to patients and their carers. You will leave the training as a nationally recognised Dementia Friend, for which you will receive your badge in the evening. During the event you will also be trained in the North Yorkshire County Council Safe Places initiative. This is an informative session with the intention to introduce businesses to the Safe Place Scheme.

We are working with a number of partners including the Alzheimer’s Society and North Yorkshire County Council to provide this training and would be delighted if you can join us at one of the locations below:

Events begin at 7.15pm and end at 9pm. Food will be available from 6.30pm.

The events are open to the whole pharmacy team.

To secure places for your pharmacy please register by emailing enquiries@cpny.co.uk ASAP, stating the name of your pharmacy, which date/venue, the number of places you require and contact details.

Becoming a Dementia Friend and a Dementia Friendly Pharmacy

The session is aimed at Pharmacists, Counter Assistants and any pharmacy staff with an interest in mental health wellbeing that wish to support dementia in the pharmacy. It will be a useful and fun refresher for all the pharmacy team and will cover:

• Training to become a Dementia Friend (you will receive your badge in the evening).
• Practical support and guidance you can offer dementia patients and their carers.
• Becoming a Dementia Friendly Pharmacy to be part of a Dementia Friendly Community (you will leave this training as a national recognised Dementia Friend).

Safe Places

The Safe Places scheme aims to provide vulnerable people, particularly those with learning disabilities, with a safe place to go with access to help if they are feeling scared or upset when out on their own in the community.

North Yorkshire is a safe place to live in and visit but unfortunately, sometimes, vulnerable people may become victims of bullying or harassment when they go out. There may also be occasions when they become lost or separated from their respective carer or just, quite simply, disorientated.

Vulnerable people can request a card, upon which they can write their name and the phone number of their trusted person(s) from their local co-ordinator (below). They carry this card with them at all times and, if needed, they can show this card to the Safe Places staff who will take action and make the phone call to the trusted person(s). The person(s) called will then either come and collect them or advise them on what they need to do.

The Safe Places that are involved in the scheme are easily identified by the yellow logo displayed in the front window.