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The IMPACTAgewell© Project

The IMPACT (Involving Many to Prescribe Alternative Care Together) Agewell initiative, which received almost £1 million of funding from Dunhill Medical Trust, will prescribe alternative care to people over the age of 65 in a bid to meet their social, emotional or practical needs by linking them with sources of support in the local community.

The aims of IMPACT Agewell are:

  • Put older people at the heart of what happens;

  • Improve health and wellbeing outcomes that matter most to the older person;

  • Build knowledge and diversity within health and social care support;

  • Develop and sustain integrated, valued and safe partnerships;

  • Reduce cost of health and social care support.

 

The funding was awarded to Mid and East Antrim Agewell Partnership (MEAAP), a local inter-agency based partnership aimed at improving the lives of older people in the Ballymena, Larne and Carrickfergus areas.

This funding will support the development of six localised health and wellbeing hubs across the Mid and East Antrim area.  Each hub is a partnership with a GP practice, community pharmacy and staff from the health and social care sectors to deliver 1,100 older people with a variety of alternative care prescriptions.

PACT (Primary Care and Community Together) has developed a new “model of care” for the community pharmacy network which includes a PACT pharmacist to represent ALL the community pharmacies within the locality. 

This is a new concept of community pharmacies working together to provide a population model of care.

The focus of the community pharmacy element of IMPACT Agewell is to provide coordinated community pharmacy support to the service user. 

This will include:-

  • participating as a partner within the project and multidisciplinary hubs.

  • pharmaceutical interventions within the project.

  • identifying any HSCB community pharmacy services which are appropriate for the service user.

  • delivering the contracted pharmacy services for the service user.

  • identifying and plugging the gaps in community pharmacy service provision. 

  • better integration of commissioned pharmacy services within each older person’s care plan.

  • referring potential older people into the IMPACTAgewell project.

Role of the Six PACT Pharmacists in the IMPACTAgewell project

 

  • Attend monthly multidisciplinary hub meetings

  • Attend strategy/training meetings  x 2 per year

  • At the hub meetings, identify and discuss any pharmaceutical interventions that may be appropriate for the service user.

  • At the hub meetings, identify any HSCB community pharmacy service which may be appropriate for the service user- namely, Managing your Medicines, Medicines Use Reviews, Smoking Cessation scheme and Minor Ailments scheme.

Work with the IMPACT officer and local community pharmacies to ensure that, were appropriate, older people receive the appropriate community pharmacy service. 

 

*NB the older person’s usual community pharmacy will always be contacted in the first instance to carry out the service. If the pharmacy cannot carry out the service then the IMPACT pharmacist will obtain consent from the service user to refer to the next available pharmacy within the area to provide the service. The older person’s nominated community pharmacy will be informed of outcome. 

 

Role of the Community Pharmacy network in the IMPACTAgewell project.

 

  • Identify which HSCB commissioned services that the community pharmacy is contracted and willing to provide.

  • Accept referrals from the PACT Pharmacist for community pharmacy services.

  • Carry out community pharmacy service with the service user liaising with the PACT Pharmacist and IMPACT officer.

  • Provide service feedback forms to the IMPACT Hub. 

 

The whole project is being measured by an action research evaluation which is being independently verified and supported by Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).

In addition to this, PACT has also obtained additional funding from Northern Pharmacies Trust Ltd to further evaluate the community pharmacy aspect of the IMPACTAgewell project.

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PACT in partnership with the Medicines Optimisation Innovation Centre (MOIC) are to evaluate :-

 

  1. the effectiveness of the IMPACT pharmacist working in the Health and Wellbeing hub.

    •    Number and type of referrals to community pharmacy services or non contracted services.

    •    Number of actions as a result of those referrals implemented in the clients personal care plan.

    •    Assessing the quality of those actions using a scale like EADON which is reflective of improvement in care.

    •    Number of clients recommended into the IMPACTAgewell programme through the community pharmacy network.

    •    Number of clients signposted to MEAAP services because they fall outside the criteria of the service or are outside the Health and Wellbeing Hub’s population but require support with the Social Determinants of Health.

    •    Continuity of care and on going support by the community pharmacy network once a client has left the support of the IMPACTAgewell team.

 

 

  1. The effectiveness of community pharmacy delivering community pharmacy services.

    •    Number of actions recommended and actioned by the hub in clients personal action plan.

    •    Assessing the quality of those actions using a scale like EADON which is reflective of improvement in care.

    •    Recommendations made by community pharmacy eg adherence solutions respecting the wishes of the client.

    •    Number of clients identified by community pharmacy needing the support that is delivered by the IMPACTAgewell hub team.

    •    Number of clients signposted to MEAAP needing support with the social determinants of health because they fall outside the criteria or population of the hubs.

    •    Evaluating the continuity of care once a client has left the support of the IMPACTAgewell team.

 

  • 3) Difference in outcomes for patients who have received pharmacy support compared to patients who have received no pharmacy support.

    •    IMPACTAgewell will have the data surrounding 1,100 older people, 6 months prior, 6 months during and 6 months after they have been in the service. This data includes all trust data, GP records and is being mined by MEABC statisticians.

PACT Contact us - 02890656576

©2018 by PrimaryCare and Community Together. 

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