NPA welcomes NHS Choose Well Summer Campaign

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has responded positively to the recent launch of the NHS Choose Well Summer Campaign, which promotes the role that community pharmacies can play in promoting good health.

Introduced on July 12th 2012, the initiative aims to remind people that pharmacists can provide advice or over-the-counter treatments to address many common conditions affecting people over the summer.

The aim is to prevent patients from making unnecessary use of emergency and 999 services, or from visiting the GP by default when affected by a self-limiting illness.

To coincide with this campaign, the NPA is making a stock of its Come First to Pharmacy leaflets available to NHS Communications teams.

Mike Holden, NPA chief executive and member of the National Self Care Forum, said: "Getting the message through about appropriate use of healthcare resources is good for the NHS, but also good for patients who can access treatment and support more conveniently than they may think."

This comes after the organisation underlined the need for pharmacists to improve their understanding of vitamin D-related health issues, following recent media reports highlighting health issues relating to vitamin deficiency.