The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7434 p40
13 January 2007

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Coventry pharmacists begin obesity pilot scheme

Community pharmacies in Coventry will offer a weight management service for obese customers through a pilot study set up by Coventry Teaching Primary Care Trust. Pharmacists were inducted into the scheme and received training this week at a launch event in Coventry.

Laurence Tressler, deputy head of medicines management at the PCT, told The Journal that 10 pharmacies had been selected to take part in the scheme and that 150 people would be recruited. Patients with a body mass index of 30 to 35 with at least one diagnosed or established risk factor are eligible to be involved and will receive practical guidance and individualised support for managing their lifestyle.

The scheme is supported by UniChem Professional Services with a £7,500 contribution from the DoH.

Gul Root, principal pharmaceutical officer at the DoH, commented: “We welcome this kind of initiative, which aims to maximise the contribution of pharmacists and their staff in providing healthy lifestyle advice. We would like to see more pharmacies involved in weight management initiatives and hope that the outcome of this project will help to spread such practice to other PCTs.”