Int J Pharm Pract 1999;7:100-6

National Addiction Centre, 4 Windsor Walk, London, England SE5 8AF
Janie Sheridan, PhD, MRPharmS, senior research pharmacist
John Strang, MD, FRCPsych, professor and director
Selina Lovell, HNDip, research assistant

Correspondence: Dr Sheridan J.Sheridan@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Original Papers

National and local guidance on services for drug misusers: do they influence current practice? - results of a survey of community pharmacists in South East England

JANIE SHERIDAN, JOHN STRANG and SELINA LOVELL

Objective - To investigate levels of awareness of national and local guidance about services for drug misusers and their effect on pharmacy practice.
Method - A postal survey in 1997 to collect data on current involvement in services for drug misusers, awareness of and receipt of key documents pertaining to drug misuse, effects of guidelines and protocols on practice, and influences on decisions to provide services.
Setting - A random one in two sample (n=1,582) of community pharmacies in the South East of England (North and South Thames regions).
Key findings - A 65.1 per cent response rate was achieved. Just over half (54.7 per cent) were dispensing Controlled Drugs for the management of dependence, 47.2 per cent were selling clean injecting equipment and 15.5 per cent were offering a needle exchange service. Most respondents were unaware of key government documents, with the exception of "Health of the nation," and only a small minority had received copies. The most influential factors on current position on service provision were "personal experience," "local need" and "Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) policy." New local guidelines and initiatives mainly related to supervised consumption of methadone in pharmacies and pharmacy needle exchange.
Conclusion - Community pharmacies are substantially and increasingly involved in providing primary care services for drug misusers. However, there is a disturbing lack of awareness of key government initiatives, possibly due to the lack of dissemination of such documents. RPSGB policy as a key influencing factor points to an opportunity for the profession to take a more influential position.