National Pharmacy Technician Group Scotland (NPTGS)

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY 2018 - 2023

DECEMBER 2018 VERSION: Final AUTHORS: Annmarie Crowe; Hazel Jamieson; Claire Steele

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CONTENTS

1. FOREWORD 3

2. PURPOSE 4

3. CONTEXT 5

4. ANALYSIS 7

5. STAKEHOLDERS 9

6. ORGANISATIONAL OBJECTIVES 11

7. CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION 12

8. MEASURABLE OUTCOMES 13

9. STRATEGY SUMMARY TIMELINE 14

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1. FOREWORD

On behalf of the National Pharmacy Technician Group Scotland (NPTGS) I am pleased to introduce our first communication strategy. The NPTGS is a newly established group with a broad role and remit that provides a forum for pharmacy technicians practising in Scotland. As a new group and an emerging profession I recognise the importance of effective engagement with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. To successfully engage we need effective communication to articulate our vision, aims and objectives, and to gain the views and input of stakeholders. The communication strategy is designed to do this: recognising our current position; clearly setting out what we will do to enable two-way communication; and, defining outcomes to measure success.

This strategy emphasises the importance we place on communication as we

strive to raise awareness of NPTGS, share key messages, listen, collaborate and

act to deliver the group’s objectives.

Dr. Carol Nairn Head of Medicines Supply Chain, NHS Tayside and Chair of NPTGS

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2. PURPOSE

The aim of this strategy is to enable effective two way communication with every pharmacy technician in Scotland regardless of their area of practice within the public or private sector. As the pharmacy technician profession is in its infancy, this strategy also encompasses the communication with key stakeholders in Scotland who are influential in pharmacy technician practice and development and the establishment of clear and effective communication links with pharmacy technician regulatory and professional bodies across the United Kingdom. This strategy will support NPTGS to be recognised as the professional leadership

group for pharmacy technicians in Scotland, assist NPTGS to communicate and

collaborate effectively with the professional body, Association of Pharmacy

Technicians UK (APTUK) and assist NPTGS to increase the profile of the pharmacy

technician profession to the wider general public. An important aspect of this will

include the development of a consistent approach to communication including

the use of recognisable branding.

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3. CONTEXT

At the request of the NHS Scotland Directors of Pharmacy (DoPs), NPTGS was

created in 2017. The role of NPTGS is:

To enable professional leadership and the development of professional

practice for pharmacy technicians in Scotland.

To share best practice, networking and problem solving to meet NHS

Scotland and patient requirements.

To support role development and skill mix, including that of

unregistered pharmacy support staff at a national level through

collaboration on the development of educational strategy.

To act as a consultative resource for matters relating to pharmacy

technician practice.

To contribute to the delivery of the national pharmacy strategy.

As of September 2018, NPTGS has members from 11 different Health Boards and

representation from NHS Education for Scotland (NES). The majority of members

practice in the acute sector with the remainder practicing in primary care or

community pharmacy; there is currently no representation from any other

pharmacy sector. An identified challenge of NPTGS is the ability to engage with

pharmacy technicians working in other sectors.

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According to the Achieving Excellence in Pharmaceutical Care Strategy there are

over 2000 pharmacy technicians registered in Scotland and engagement with all

is required to enable the profession to continue to develop as a unified working

group.

In the Achieving Excellence in Pharmaceutical Care Strategy, commitment 7, it

has been identified that the number of pharmacy technicians is expected to rise

considerably over the next few years; it is therefore increasingly important for

pharmacy technicians to have effective links with NPTGS.

1Achieving Excellence in Pharmaceutical Care strategy

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4. ANALYSIS

NPTGS has commenced engagement with the Health Boards and awareness of

the group is being supported by members working collaboratively. Links have

been established with APTUK, DoPs, National Acute Pharmacy Services (NAPS)

group, Primary Care Community Pharmacy group and the Scottish Practice

Pharmacist and Prescribing Advisors Association (SP3AA).

Communication to and from NPTGS is limited to acute and primary care via

e-mail with meetings held every two months. A key messages bulle-

tin is distributed after each meeting to pharmacy technicians across Scotland,

which also contains the names and contact details of current NPTGS representa-

tives. The bulletin includes a request for feedback via the local representa-

tive. However the current distribution list does not include all pharmacy techni-

cians and there is no formal process to facilitate a pharmacy technician working

within any sector to share best practice or input to the work of NPTGS.

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With an effective communication strategy, NPTGS will be able to:

Increase the profile of pharmacy technicians.

Engage effectively with of all pharmacy technicians working across all

sectors.

Enable the use of a wide variety of social media platforms accessible to

the general public.

Support collaboration across all sectors and Health Boards.

Facilitate a professional group response from a Scottish perspective to

legislative, regulatory or professional consultations affecting pharmacy

technicians and unregistered pharmacy support staff.

Enable recognition by Scottish Government, DoPs and other senior

figures in Scotland as the professional leadership group for all pharmacy

technicians.

There is a risk that the communication strategy will not be effective if the diverse

role of the pharmacy technician is not understood or if there is a lack of

engagement and/or apathy from the key stakeholders.

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5. STAKEHOLDERS

NPTGS members

All pharmacy technicians in Scotland (across all sectors). All sectors defined

as (but not restricted to):

Acute Care (Hospital)

Armed Forces (Ministry of Defence)

Community Pharmacy

Educational Establishments

Pharmaceutical Industry

Primary Care (Managed Service)

Scottish Prison Service

Special Health Boards

NHS Organisations

DoPs

NAPS

NES

NHS Scotland Special Interest Groups

Primary Care Community Pharmacy Group

SP3AA

Other registered and unregistered pharmacy staff e.g.

pharmacists; pharmacy support workers

Other healthcare workers e.g. nursing staff

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Non-NHS Organisations

Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK)

Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS)

General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

Educational Providers

Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)

General Public

Scottish Government

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NPTGS Objective Communication Strategy 1. Provide leadership and support for pharmacy

technicians in Scotland.

Enable two-way communication via various media sources to ensure connectivity with all pharmacy technicians in Scotland. Ensure all educational and support materials are available in multiple formats.

2. Promote a culture of professionalism among Scotland’s pharmacy technicians, providing peer support to foster professionalism, enable role modelling, self-regulation and promote accountability amongst the pharmacy technician profession.

Ensure NPTGS is visible across all available media platforms. Communicate the NPTGS work plan and expectations of professional practice.

3. Collaborate with and act as a consultative resource for DoPs and other relevant pharmacy leadership groups as required, on defined projects of importance to NHS Scotland, in order to promote best practice throughout Scotland and to minimise duplication of effort.

Ensure appropriate and efficient communications to all named groups in a consistent and professional format with appropriate branding. Ensure a communication plan is developed for specific projects.

4. Participate in the review of any proposed developments or matters relevant to pharmacy technicians or their professional practice.

Refer to point 1 above.

5. Develop communication with all pharmacy technicians in Scotland to enable sharing of infor-mation / good practice.

Develop a communication strategy and plan to reach all pharmacy technicians via multiple sources that is inclusive to all sectors, abilities and areas. Identify champions from NPTGS members to promote the work of the group. Engage with intermediary partners to ensure sharing of information e.g. Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) etc.

6. Provide professional representation as appropriate on national groups and decision making bodies.

Ensure visibility of NPTGS and devise an official mechanism of contact.

7. Set strategic direction and priorities for the group and propose developments aligned with the DoPs strategic direction.

Establish effective communication link with DoPs and as per point 1 above.

8. To produce, maintain and deliver on a work plan appropriate to the role of the group.

Ensure sharing of the work plan with all stakeholders (as appropriate) and offer support for local application (as appropriate).

9. To establish short life working groups (SLWG) as and when required.

NPTGS to consider appointing a communications officer to facilitate the sharing of information between SLWGs so there is consistency and no duplication.

6. ORGANISATIONAL OBJECTIVES

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7. CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication Intended Audience (Stakeholder)

Career Events/Fairs General Public

E-Community Platform NPTGS members

Educational/Training Sessions (facilitated or delivered by NPTGS)

Pharmacy Technicians

Electronic Questionnaires/Surveys Pharmacy Technicians; NHS Organisations; Non-NHS Organisations

E-mail (preferably NHSmail2) Pharmacy Technicians; NHS Organisations

Events/Conferences (attended or hosted by NPTGS) Pharmacy Technicians, NHS Organisations, Non-NHS Organisations

Non-NHS Organisations Media Officers (to support cascade of key information, projects, surveys etc)

Pharmacy Technicians; NHS Organisations

NPTGS Pharmacy Champions Pharmacy Technicians; NHS Organisations

Posters/Leaflets (electronic and paper) in multiple formats as required e.g. different language; Braille

Pharmacy Technicians; NHS Organisations; General Public

Text Messaging Alert Service (to highlight key information, projects, surveys etc)

Pharmacy Technicians

Social Media (posts/videos/photographs/documents) including but not restricted to: Facebook; Twitter; You-Tube; Telegram

Pharmacy Technicians; NHS Organisations; Non-NHS Organisations; General Public

Website and/or hosted webpage(s) Pharmacy Technicians; NHS Organisations; Non-NHS Organisations; General Public

To ensure a consistent and professional approach to communication, all methods

will be delivered using a standardized format i.e. NPTGS branded templates.

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8. MEASURABLE OUTCOMES

The successful application of this strategy will be measured periodically over a

defined period of time by:

Monitoring of the number of e-mails to NPTGS

Number of followers, shares and likes on social media

Number of responses and evaluation of surveys generated by NPTGS

e.g. evaluation of the effectiveness of this communication strategy

Use of Google Analytics to monitor use of NPTGS website/hosted

web-pages (once established)

In addition, a review of the use of official communication channels by all

stakeholders will be undertaken (as defined by the strategy timeline).

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