Derry school children classed in 'Pharmacy Aware'

Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Cathy Harrison has visited Long Tower Primary School in Derry, one of over 70 schools from across Northern Ireland taking part in a programme to help make pupils ‘Pharmacy Aware’. 

The Pharmacy Schools programme teaches primary school children about self-care and the services available in community pharmacies, and the lessons took place as part of Self-Care Week. 

Speaking during her visit she said: “I hope the Pharmacy Schools Programme can be delivered in all primary schools across Northern Ireland. It was developed with teachers and children and supports delivery of the NI Curriculum.

"It enables children, schools and wider community to learn about the services of community pharmacy and medication safety. These are important skills for children to develop as they grow. The Pharmacy Schools Programme has lessons for Primary 1 – Primary 7, allowing children to learn about self-care and community pharmacy services available all year round and may be particularly needed during winter. 

“It is really important that we all have a better understanding of self-care and how to manage minor illnesses. Community pharmacies are readily accessible in towns and villages, and offer a wide range of vital health services to local communities.

"This innovative programme helps to teach school children about the services available from community pharmacies and equip them with the knowledge and skills to use medicines safely throughout their lives."

She continued: "Following a successful pilot in a number of Belfast schools, I am delighted that children and their families can benefit from the programme.

“We have also been delighted to work with the STEM Ambassador programme in Northern Ireland to harness the energy and enthusiasm of STEM ambassadors to support delivery of the programme in local schools.”

Chief Executive of Belfast Healthy Cities Joan Devlin, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Belfast, says the programme “takes the mystery out of medicine, pharmacy and helps to teach school children about when they should use this service and how to use medicine safely.”

The Pharmacy Schools Programme has been developed by Belfast Healthy Cities, in partnership with the Department of Health. The aim of the Programme is to promote self-care as the best choice to treat minor illnesses and to equip children with the knowledge and skills they need to use medicines safely throughout their lives.

It also aims to highlight the role of community pharmacy services to treat common childhood ailments such as colds, head lice and hay fever.

Cathy Harrison, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Department of Health joins Joyce Logue, Principal, Long Tower Primary School on to launch the Pharmacy Schools Programme, along with Rebecca Ramsey, Co-Ordinator, Long Tower PS, Ian Gallagher, Vice Principal, and Anne McCusker, Belfast Healthy Cities, and pupils who took part in the programme. 

The resource is being utilised in primary schools right across Northern Ireland. The dedicated teaching resource includes lesson plans to support delivery of the Northern Ireland Curriculum and has been co-produced with a range of organisations across pharmacy, education, health, academia and community and voluntary sectors.

 Using a health literacy approach and considering the importance of medication safety the lessons enable children to understand health professionals and health services, the role of a pharmacist in supporting the management of common childhood ailments, and how we can access and understand health information.

The Pharmacy Schools Programme was developed to support the delivery of the Department of Health’s Medicines Optimisation Quality Framework as well as the Department’s “Transforming medication safety in Northern Ireland” strategy which aims to reduce severe avoidable harm from the use of medicines by aligning Northern Ireland’s medication safety priorities to the WHO Third Global Patient Safety Challenge, “Medication without Harm”.