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Network News is produced by The Pharmaceutical Journal in association with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's public relations and membership unit as a service to members of the Society resident in Great Britain
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Believe it or not, some 84 per cent of British adults read a regional newspaper. With 1,286 titles to choose from, including 27 morning papers, 75 evenings, 21 Sundays, 526 paid-for weeklies and 637 free weeklies, there is plenty of choice. Add to this the ever-increasing numbers of regional television and radio stations and it soon becomes clear how important regional media are in influencing public opinion.
Regional media take national news stories and show readers what effect
they might have on their day-to-day lives. They also devote time and
space to local stories that would never see the light of day in the pages
of The Times or on the BBC Six o’clock news desk.
An important element of the Society’s public relations (PR) work
is aimed at
using the regional media to help highlight pharmacy stories to the public.
By running a series of planned campaigns based on public health messages,
the PR unit has secured media coverage that helps to increase public
understanding of the role of pharmacy and also raise awareness of the
expert skills that pharmacists have.
In running its campaigns, the PR unit works closely with the Society’s
branch public relations officers (BPROs) and regional communications
officers (RCOs).
“The Society’s campaign
was a great success. It is pleasing to see that so many pharmacists
were keen to be involved in the campaign and I would like to thank
my colleagues at the front line for their enthusiasm in promoting
the profession in a responsible and important extended public health
role.”
— Sid Dajani, a member of the Society’s
Council and Council sponsor for Ask About Medicines Week. |
One such campaign was “Ask about sexual health”,
part of the Society’s contribution to the wider Ask
About Medicines Week
(7 to 11 November 2005), which encouraged the public to visit their local
pharmacy for advice on sexual health. The campaign involved an intensive
local and national media push with BPROs interviewed by newspapers and
appearing on radio shows to help drive the message home.
An advice leaflet was published to support the campaign. To date, over
100,000 copies have been distributed through pharmacies and primary care
trusts in England. A
Welsh language version of the leaflet was also produced and distributed
through pharmacies and local health boards in Wales.
Against a backdrop of growing national rates of sexually transmitted
infections and the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe, you might
be forgiven for thinking that getting sexual health stories covered in
the regional media should not be difficult. In reality, the sheer quantity
and range of competing stories that arrive every day on news desks around
Britain means that the competition for news space has never been higher.
In convincing regional journalists that pharmacy stories are newsworthy,
it helps to have a local expert available to be interviewed. This is
where BPROs come into their own, offering a local perspective and understanding
the health needs of the local community.
“Sexual health is one
of the main areas that we are promoting in our PCT. I was able
to highlight the leaflet to listeners during my regular phone-in
slot on BBC Radio Stoke and explain how pharmacists are ideally
placed at the frontline of health care to target and treat patients.”
— Sean
Woodward, branch public relations officer for North Staffordshire.
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East Sussex pharmacist Vanessa
Taylor, who is BPRO for the Eastbourne branch, was one of those interviewed
as part of the “Ask about
sexual health” campaign. She appeared in the Brighton-based The
Argus newspaper (circulation 36,854) and twice on Southern Counties
Radio (over 240,000 listeners per week).
Mrs Taylor said: “In terms of getting the pharmacy message across
to a wider audience, local and regional media are absolutely vital. It
is certainly exciting to sit down in a studio and prepare yourself to
be interviewed and know that thousands of people are listening, or to
see an article appear on the news stands that you have contributed to.
It is great for the profession because it shows that the viewpoint of
pharmacists is valued and underlines our presence in the wider health
care team.”
One interesting link that came from the “Ask about sexual health” local
media campaign was that an Eastbourne Herald journalist was
planning a major feature to coincide with World Aids Day in early December.
A
quick call ensured a meeting between Mrs Taylor and the journalist, as
a result of which the parameters of the feature were widened to take
in broader sexual health issues. This meant that the final published
report focused on how Eastbourne pharmacists are a major source of advice
and practical help on contraception and protection for local people. Scotland and Wales
In Scotland, Nicola Carlyle, communications officer (pharmacy) for
NHS Fife, has picked up a number of Society media campaigns
and has been able to localise the pharmacy message for readers and listeners
in her region.
She says: “There are massive opportunities for joint working between
organisations like ours and the Society when it comes to spreading the
word about pharmacy. The ‘Ask about sexual health’ campaign
was a good example, and we were able to take the Society’s media
materials and incorporate messages directly relevant to our stakeholders.”
“The leaflet was very good,
attention grabbing and easy to understand. The PCT set up two stands
in the local shopping centre during Ask About Medicines Week and
the leaflet was one of the resources distributed to people as they
walked by. Sexual health can be a taboo subject and the leaflet
educated people and encouraged them to seek further advice from
their pharmacist. Some people also asked us for advice while visiting
the stands.”
— Charan Bahbra, prescribing support pharmacist,
Surrey Heath and Woking PCT,
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Pharmacists
in Wales also made good use of the campaign material. Jo Lewis, prescribing
support pharmacist, Vale of Glamorgan Local Health
Board, says: “During Ask About Medicines Week, local pharmacists
manned a stall at Barry market to help inform the public and encourage
them to ask questions about their health and the medicines they use.
Having literature available that is both informative and user friendly
really helped us. In addition, we are hoping to focus on sexual health
as one of our major health promotion campaigns in 2006, and these leaflets
will be incredibly useful in getting the message across to the public.” 2006 campaigns
Looking ahead to the rest of 2006, a number of campaigns have already
been identified by the public relations unit and will be rolled out
using the BPRO network. They will also feature collaborations with
other health care organisations.
The first for 2006 is National No
Smoking Day (Wednesday 8 March 2006).
The Society has supported this campaign from its outset and the annual
event is one in which pharmacists can really get involved, as they are
the ideal first port of call for those looking for help to quit. For
pharmacists in Scotland the 2006 No Smoking Day Campaign is particularly
timely with Smoke-Free Scotland coming into effect on 26 March.
Other campaigns planned for 2006 include an antibiotics awareness campaign,
a campaign highlighting the safe use of internet pharmacy and a campaign
to raise public awareness of the changing role of pharmacy.
For more details about forthcoming public relations unit campaigns, contact
the Society’s communications manager, Felicity Slayford (tel 020
7572 2336; e-mail felicity.slayford@rpsgb.org). |
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Pharmaceutical Journal