Keele experts create new resources for pharmacy staff to support people with Long Covid
Keele researchers have contributed to a new evidence-based training resource for pharmacy teams to help them provide better care for patients with Long Covid.
The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) has launched the new e-learning programme “Supporting people living with Long Covid”, with Keele’s Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham OBE and Dr Tom Kingstone co-leading research funded by an NIHR Research for Patient Benefit grant which contributed to the development of the resource.
The programme is designed to help community pharmacy teams build their skills, knowledge and confidence to support people managing the long-term effects of Covid-19.
During the development of this programme, CPPE worked in collaboration with researchers from Keele University, Aston University, University of Kent, Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, and lechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru (Public Health Wales) undertaking the NIHR-funded PHARM-LC research study.
The research draws on the perspectives of people with lived experience of Long Covid, as well as the views of community pharmacy teams on what learning they need to better support people living with Long Covid. This new programme offers video and audio resources, practical consultation examples and strategies for supporting individuals through lifestyle advice, person-centred care and access to wider services.
Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham OBE from Keele University said: “Two million people in the UK are living with Long Covid, a condition people are still developing, which may not be readily recognised, because routine testing for acute infection has largely stopped.
“For many, the pharmacy is the first place they seek advice about persisting symptoms following viral infection. The pharmacy team, therefore, has the potential to play a really important role in supporting people with Long Covid.
“This learning programme provides evidence-based information to develop the confidence of pharmacy staff in talking to people with Long Covid. Developed with people living with Long Covid, the programme’s key message is to believe and empathise with people about their symptoms.”
Rachel Murray, senior learning development pharmacist at the CPPE, added: “I really enjoyed working on the Supporting people living with Long Covid programme. It’s shaped by research and, most importantly, people with lived experience. Community pharmacy teams were pivotal during the pandemic. This new e-learning will help you to build on that incredible work and make a real difference in your local community.”
