NPA launches training for medicine delivery staff

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has developed new training aimed at staff who collect prescriptions from surgeries to deliver to patients' homes.

Accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council, the Delivering Medicines Safely and Effectively course covers essentials of pharmacy practice, the basics of delivering good customer service, how to work as a team, and health and safety issues.

It will give delivery drivers an understanding of community pharmacy and the importance of following processes, while addressing potential risks and factors to bear in mind when handling drugs.

This self-study distance learning course takes approximately 15 hours to complete over a period of three months.

Julie Bolam, head of professional development at the NPA, said: "The course has been developed following feedback from members, who want to be confident that delivery drivers are providing a good service to their patients and are acting according to the necessary rules and regulations."

The NPA is dedicated to supporting the UK's community pharmacy sector and has been operating since 1921.