Community Pharmacy Scotland
Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) has signed up to work with an urban regeneration initiative in the west of Scotland to develop digital tools for the community pharmacy sector.
HALO Scotland is a multimillion pound project to redevelop a former Johnnie Walker whisky bottling plant as a commercial and educational hub. It has been funded from the private sector, government, and the local authority in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire.
CPS has signed a memorandum of understanding with HALO agreeing to develop digital technologies to “improve and personalise pharmaceutical services” and support start-up businesses engaged in digital health.
They also said they will collaborate with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, and East Ayrshire Council “to help develop and modernise healthcare and pharmacies”.
The memorandum of understanding also commits to providing digital health training to young people and students in East Ayrshire.
Martin Green, chair of CPS, said the joint project aims to “ensure that digital solutions can be delivered by pharmacy staff with the knowledge and skills required to support self-care and have a real and lasting impact on people’s health outcomes”.
“The community pharmacy network allows us to both test changes in a controlled way and implement once-for-Scotland solutions, and I am truly looking forward to exploring the possibilities that working with The HALO will bring.”
Marie Macklin, founder and executive chair of the HALO Urban Regeneration Company, said that pharmacies “play a vital role in the health sector and are a huge asset to local communities”.
“This partnership will see digital and cyber technologies developed at the HALO’s Enterprise and Innovation Hub and will provide CPS with the tools to monitor the skills needs of the pharmacy sector”.
