The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7415 p242
26 August 2006

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Success for Healthy Start

Healthy Start, launched in Devon and Cornwall last year, has been deemed a success in a report commissioned by the Department of Health.

A DoH spokeswoman told The Journal that 194 pharmacies are signed up to the scheme in Devon and Cornwall. The programme — which allows pregnant women and low-income families with children under the age of four years to exchange vouchers for milk, fresh fruit and vegetables and infant formula — replaces the Welfare Food Scheme and is being rolled out across the UK from November. Health professionals (including those involved in pharmaceutical services) must be included at a strategic level in any communication about Healthy Start to fully realise the aims of the programme during this second phase, the report says.